Empress of Alvarez
by RogerShanksLuffy
Summary: What if Layla Heartfilia faked her death because she was in love with Zeref? She is now the Empress of Alvarez, and the rest of Fairy Tail is no match for her once she joins the war. But there's more to everything than meets the eye, as the entire thing is being manipulated by the gods, and another Heartfilia. ZerLa, Miraxus, & NaLu. Rated M for Language, Blood, and Sexual Content.
1. The End of Gajeel

**Fair Warning, the rewrite starts at chapter 487, which just came out today. So if you're not there yet, I recommend catching up before reading.**

"Hmm…" Eileen looked down as Gajeel was fighting against Bradman.

"Eileen." She heard a voice behind her.

"Zeref? What are you doing here?" she asked, looking behind herself and finding her emperor standing there.

"What were you planning to do about Acnologia?"

"Well, clearly I won't be able to take him on without sacrificing something. He is still heading this way, right?"

"No, not anymore. For some reason, he's turned in a different direction. He seems to have gone back to his cave. I suppose he's still biding his time."

"I see. Then, nevermind, I suppose." She looked back down at the fight. "Oh! It looks like he entered Dragon Force." Zeref walked forward and watched with her.

"That's Gajeel…"

"Yes."

"I see. Well, I'll be off now. I have other business to attend to. Try not to do anything too reckless."

"I know." she said before he created a black portal and left.

 **X**

"..." Brandish and her group were silent.

"An exceed...a mage who is a former member of the Magic Council… And those two...What exactly are you playing at Brandish?" August asked.

"I've come to negotiate with you."

"Has Jacob been killed?"

"He was defeated at the hands of these two. He isn't dead. He's been taken prisoner. What of God Serena? He should have been with you."

"He's here with me." the old man responded, placing a hand on his heart.

"Brandish's magic power is absurdly high, but...August's…" Lucy whispered.

"Yeah, it's a bit more…" Natsu agreed.

'Have Natsu and Lucy's senses gone dull or something?! This guy is in a completely different dimension!' Mest thought.

"Now then, do you mind clarifying exactly what you mean by 'negotiate'?"

"I would like you to halt your advance." Brandish said calmly.

"Hrm...From what I can gather, it doesn't appear you've been tortured…Am I to interpret this as betrayal?"

"That couldn't be farther than the truth. I am and always will be a loyal citizen of Alvarez, through and through. It's just...I cannot find any meaning in this war." Brandish answered quickly.

"Those very words are in direct betrayal of His Majesty's will. Need I remind you, we Spriggan 12 have dedicated our minds, bodies, and souls to his majesty. If, in spite of that, you still cannot comprehend why you must fight for his cause...then you are nothing more than an enemy who must be eliminated."

Everyone's facial expression turned grim.

 **X**

"GAJEEL!" Levy screamed.

"What the hell is this?! My body is getting sucked in!" he yelled, getting pulled down to hell with Bradman.

"The door to the underworld...Thou shalt never return...Never...Again…" the reaper gasped out his final words.

"GUARRRGGHHH!" Gajeel shouted.

"Gajeel!" Levy started running towards him.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" he screamed at her. "It's too late for me...my body...has already...become nothing but...a mass of Magic Barrier Particles…If you touch me...then you'll also become…"

"I don't care about any of that!"

"LEVY!"

"You're coming back with me, Gajeel! No matter what!" She started towards him again, before he held his hand out and with the last of his strength, shackled her to a boulder.

"What do you think you're doing, Gajeel?!"

"You left me with no other choice…"

"I'll have you know, I'm not the damsel in distress I was when you first met me!" She created Solid Script: Sword on her feet and swung upwards, cutting her out of the chains.

"I'm begging you to stop!" Gajeel yelled. Before Levy could move another muscle, Lily appeared behind her and held her back.

"UNHAND ME LILY!" Levy cried out.

"I must refuse your request...Lest you get dragged in too." he said weakly.

"I DON'T CARE! LET ME GO! AT THIS RATE, GAJEEL WILL BE…!"

"..."

"Levy…" Gajeel said in a normal voice. "Back then...I really was...nothing but a degenerate scumbag...But then I met you...and you were able to...bring out all the best parts of me...what little there was of it anyway...You taught me what it means to love...And for that, I will be eternally grateful." Levy started to cry.

"Ga...Jeel…" She cried.

"With you by my side, for the first time...I was able to discover and think about things that had never occurred to me before...The future...A family...Happiness...I can't help but laugh...who would've thought that the Great, Badass, Gajeel of Old...Would actually consider acting like a respectable, competent adult...I really did...want to walk with you...side by side...forever...After everything I've faced...having a future with you snatched away from me...is definitely the most terrifying thing I've ever had to endure…" he said, crying.

"Gajeel…!" Levy sobbed.

"I entrust my future to you-"

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO ME...GAJEEL!" she screamed.

"You've gotta live to the fullest now...For your sake and mine…"

"I WON'T LET YOU GO! I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE ME!"

"Lily...You be sure and get Levy back to the guild safe and sound...swear it...on your life…"

"...I SWEAR IT!" And with that, the portal closed completely, and Gajeel disappeared.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Levy shrieked. "GAJEEEEEEEEL!"

 **X**

"And now...only 6 remain...until all 'Dragons' are completely annihilated…" Acnologia muttered.

"Oho…? So that's your true objective, is it?" Eileen asked, hovering over him.

"Get out of my sight...I've got no business with you. Your's is a terrifying, intense strength indeed…"

"You intend to block my path...knowing full well who I am?"

"But of course...Oh Great Acnologia." she replied almost mockingly.

"I wonder...will you be able to provide me with even a moment's entertainment?" he asked, radiating a dark aura.

"When it comes to men...I aim to please…" she replied.

 **X**

"Please, August...Listen to me. What His Majesty is attempting to achieve is absolute genocide, and nothing less. The Dragon King Festival...Ragnarok...Call it whatever you'd like, but in the end, it amounts to nothing but a one-sided massacre. This war is nothing but murder. It's not a clash of noble ideals between our two countries...surely you can tell that much?"

"..."

"I know that among the twelve, none are wiser than you. That is why you must realize that at the end of this fight, there will be no future. All that awaits us...is an empty abyss…"

"Where we are headed at the conclusion of this battle is to be decided by His Maj-"

"Think for yourself!"

"M...Maybe you shouldn't be coming on so strongly...Just a thought…" Lucy said nervously.

"That is what I have decided to do...I have reached the conclusion that these people are not evil...Far from it."

"Th...Thanks…" Lucy muttered. August looked at Natsu.

'This Child...It's him…'

"Natsu! Stop burning a hole through his body!" Lucy protested. "Please?"

"August, I beg of you...At least try talking to them."

"Hmph...Well, I suppose...I would sooner listen to what they have to say than make a fool out of you, Brandish."

"You're the best, Grandpa~!" she said, excitedly.

"I have no recollection of you being my granddaughter."

"But to me, you've always been my grandpa~! Grand...Pa…"

"Hm?" Brandish quickly took out a knife that she hid in her coat and impaled August through his chest.

"KYAHHHH!" Lucy screamed.

"What the fu-?!" Natsu yelled.

"Aha...The one I must kill...stands before me now…Grand…" Brandish muttered.

"MEST! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!" Natsu yelled at him.

"I altered her memories of course. I implanted the sentiment of 'I must kill August, no matter what the cost' within her mind."

"YOU SON OF A-!"

"I DID IT TO PROTECT THE GUILD!"

"Brandish…" Lucy muttered.

"It's all...crystal clear to me now Brandish…" August said. "This...This is their way of resolving things!" August yelled, his hair spiking up, his skin turning darker, and white line marks going down his face.

 **X**

"Hm? Mm…Those idiots." Layla said, looking up from the book she was reading. She, Yury, and Zeref were at the palace in Vistarion.

"Another one who overstepped their boundaries?" Zeref asked.

"Yes. It seems that Bradman took Gajeel with him down into the underworld."

"That fool. But it's not as if it's the end." Yury responded.

"No." Zeref responded. "If the other four fail, then I'll just leave the task of killing Acnologia to you two."

"You overestimate me." Yury said humbly. "I may be as strong as Acnologia, but I don't know for sure if I could beat him. It would be hard. You saw that he took my clone down in one strike."

"And need I remind you that that same clone was able to defeat four of the Ten Wizard Saints, three of which were Gods of Ishgar? The real you is far stronger." Layla reassured. She looked up. "And it seems like Eileen is taking on Acnologia."

"What?!" Zeref said suddenly. "Layla, go help her." he said quickly.

"Yeah, yeah. Here, Yury, hold the book." She put END's book down on the table and slid it over to him.

"I'll be right back." Layla created a black portal and walked through it, heading towards Eileen.

 **End.**

 **The first chapter was basically a retelling of the last two manga chapters, and set the scene. After reading chapter 488 today, I deleted half of my original first chapter and retyped it into what you see now. I realized that I might as well build each chapter around what really happens, because like I said with my first telling of this story, it got pretty inaccurate. So, I'll probably do each chapter every week or two depending on when the manga is on hiatus. I know fanfiction is supposed to be according to our own ideas and whatnot, but I don't want to write something, upload it, and then have it not be true by the time the new manga chapter comes out. After all, Layla and Yury are supposed to be canon characters within the Empire in my mind. Also, for pairings, I will be sticking with the original ones from before. Those are:**

 **Layla and Zeref, the first and foremost pair**

 **Laxus and Mira, as the story centers around his relationship with Layla**

 **Natsu and Lucy, as they are the most common canon pairing, and the one that I support**

 **Yury and Eileen. This one's a maybe, let me know if you want it in or not.**

 **Thanks for your continued support!**


	2. Universe One

Layla walked along the road, looking around at the old ruins.

"Ahh...This brings me back…"

 _ **X778**_

" _...Mm? Who's she?" Layla asked, walking down along the road. She started to walk over to a beautiful woman with long red hair._

" _What are you doing here?" the woman asked._

" _I had some free time, so I went for a walk. What about you?"_

" _This is the first place I went to when I came to this continent. You see, I'm interested in history and relics."_

" _Magic Relics included?"_

" _Of course. I am a mage, after all. And I can tell you are too, considering the clothes you are wearing."_

" _Am I though? What if I'm just a noble who likes to look nice?"_

" _I'm pretty sure most nobles don't wear capes. And besides, I can sense that ridiculous amount of magic power inside of you."_

 _"Heh. And what kind of power do you sense?"_

" _A...mixture of things. Celestial Spirit Magic, Heavenly Body Magic, the Black Arts, Fire Devil Slaying Magic, even Takeover."_

" _Hahaha! You got them all. You're something else. What's your name?"_

" _Eileen. Eileen Belserion. What's yours?"_

" _Layla. Layla Heartfilia."_

" _I see. Nice to meet you, Layla."_

" _You said that you're here to look at the ruins, but I think there's something else."_

" _...I heard that Acnologia lives around here. I'm trying to find him."_

" _Are you now? Sorry to burst your bubble, but from the amount of Magic Power that I can sense within you, you're not strong enough to take down someone like him."_

" _Hm. I don't believe you. Come with me if you want, I'll prove you wrong."_

" _..." Layla followed her towards the cave._

" _...Who are you and what do you want?" the dragon asked, without looking over at the two mages._

" _Don't worry about it. I've come here to kill you. You're someone who wants nothing but destruction." Eileen said._

" _Oh, really?" he asked skeptically, appearing in front of her at blinding speed, making her gasp. Layla remained indifferent, simply redirecting her eyes to him._

" _You're quite the powerful mage indeed. But I'm afraid you're not quite at my level yet." Eileen quickly charged up a lightning spell on her staff, hoping to electrocute him._

" _Darkness Dragon's Iron Fist." was all he said before he punched her, sending her flying outside of the cave and hitting a rock. Layla looked over and narrowed her eyes._

' _...She's stronger than most mages, but he's right. One more hit, and she'll be out of commission. Hmm...She's already strong, but she has lots of untapped potential. She should join us.'_

" _Darkness Dragon's Grip Strike." He made a claw shape with his hand before rushing towards her again. Layla sighed before teleporting at her own blazing speed._

" _This will finish it...What?!" Acnologia lunged his claw forward before Layla stood in front of him and stopped his attack by grabbing his wrist with one hand._

' _What is this?! This woman...she's faster than me?!'_

" _I'd say that's enough, wouldn't you. Let the sweet young thing go. Or you'll have to deal with me." she said in a menacing tone._

" _Oh...I've heard of you. You're Layla Heartfilia, aren't you? Zeref's little lover."_

" _Yeah, that's me." she said, letting go finally. Acnologia slowly drew his hand back to his side._

" _Why are you here?"_

" _I was simply following her." she nodded to Eileen._

" _Your Magic Power...it's stronger than my own. You're in an entirely different league."_

" _Thank you. That's kind of you to say, love. Now then, we'll be leaving."_

" _...Fine." He turned around and went back into the cave._

" _Are you alright?" Layla turned to Eileen._

" _Y-Yeah. I'll be okay." she stood up._

" _I guess you didn't prove me wrong after all, huh?"_

" _Mm…"_

" _Hey, don't get so discouraged. I have an idea. I assume since you live on this continent that you've heard of the Alvarez Empire?"_

" _Of course."_

" _Excellent. I'd like you to join us. I see vast potential in you."_

" _...What's your goal?"_

" _We have a few different goals. But one of them is killing Acnologia, I assure you."_

" _...All right. I'm in."_

" _Heh. Welcome to Alvarez."_

 **X**

Layla continued walking towards the very place that she once met the dark dragon.

"Oh. There they are." she stopped, and sat on top of a pillar. Eileen and Acnologia were not too far away, staring each other down.

"Layla?! What are you doing here?" Eileen looked over. So did Acnologia.

"Heh. I swear you're sweating over there, Acnologia." Layla mocked, grinning.

"You wish." he said.

"Don't mind me, I'm just here to watch." she laughed. The two looked at her for a moment before looking back at each other.

 **X**

"Grandp…" Brandish was cut off before August placed his hand in front of her, making her pass out.

"Brandish!" Lucy ran over to her.

"Lucy!" Natsu lunged out, tackling her out of the way.

"Melt." August said, before a giant pillar of fire blasted out, which could be seen from the guild. The ensuing explosion trapped Natsu, Lucy, and Mest.

"What is that light…?" Makarov asked.

"It's coming from the east!" Warren told him.

"Natsu...Lucy…" Alzack worried.

"Happy…" Bisca added.

"Fairy Glitter!" Cana yelled, down in the basement. "Mavis!" she yelled, as the astral body of the young girl disappeared. The giant lacrima that is Fairy Heart cracked and shattered, making her real body fall out. Cana quickly caught her.

"Mavis! Are you alright?! Mavis…!" The young girl slowly opened her eyes.

"I think I cramped all my muscles. I can't move the way I want to…" she mumbled.

"Heh…" Cana chuckled.

 **X**

"Well then...shall we begin?" Eileen asked. Acnologia frowned. She formed a ball of light before it became a colossal ball of magma.

'Damn!' The black dragon quickly blocked the ball of flame with his right arm, although it took a lot. His body was getting crushed into the ground from the sheer force.

"Enchanting the air…" Eileen smiled before Acnologia was blown back by the explosion of the ball, creating a massive crater along the way. He placed his feet back on the ground, slowing his speed until he stopped.

"A person who adds magic into things. So she's a High Enchanter...HAHAHA!" he raised his arm into the air, creating a massive eruption beneath Eileen's feet. She was blown back, but quickly recovered, landing on her hands before flipping back up onto her feet.

"Huh." she said.

"You're pretty good for a Warlock's Assistant. Interesting. You're much better than you were last time."

"I appreciate it. Your magic is above comprehension It's no wonder even the king is afraid of you. But what if the king got a fairy heart?"

"Are you saying that the Warlock could surpass me?"

"It's possible."

"If you're telling me to lay off the humans until then, then I don't want to listen."

"Huh...I thought I heard that you were once a human yourself. Am I wrong?"

"..."

"However...What you said was correct. I do hope you wouldn't bother us. The king thinks this is all a game. I wish he'd be a bit more serious about all this. To finish the war off quickly."

"...Now I see...You're in the same class as her." he nodded his head towards Layla. "That's why you can fight on par with me."

"You know of the Gods of Alakatasia?"

"Yes. It's like those Gods of Ishgar, only that the four of you are far stronger. I know that Layla's the strongest one, ranked first, and that the other dragon slayer, Yury, is ranked second. I'm assuming Zeref is ranked third, so you must be fourth, the weakest one."

"Yes, that's right. Although that doesn't mean you should underestimate me. I'm still strong enough to take care of you." She tapped her staff on the ground, causing a field of light to wash over the entire ground beneath them.

"What is this…? A magic I don't know of?"

"Correct...A form of magic that didn't exist 400 years ago, or even before that. This is the magic of the new age."

"The ground...Did you enchant the entire area?"

"Yep. The entire area of Fiore."

"You...What…?"

"I don't believe I told you my name last time. It's Eileen. I hope I'll see you again. Acnologia."

"I should probably get out of here." Layla got up and started going away from the spell.

"What kind of magic is that? Light?" Gray asked, carrying an injured Erza on his back.

"Eileen...Did you use that magic?" Zeref asked, sweating. "World Reconstruction Magic: Universe One."

 **X**

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Natsu screamed. "Better yet, where the hell are we?!"

"You're right on top of me, actually…" Lucy mumbled angrily.

"Lucy! Happy!"

"Last thing I remember, we were all struck by August's magic…"

"Ah, that big explosion? Yeah, I negated it! To some extent. Good thing it was heat type magic!"

"Oh, so you negated it, huh?"

"I guess the question now is, why and how did we end up in a place like this?" Happy asked.

"I can't get a whiff of either Mest's or Brandish's scent...Not to mention, I can't feel August's presence at all."

"What exactly transpired during all that chaos…?" Lucy asked.

 **X**

"Right as I saw the whole sky lighting up...Just like that, the landscape completely changed…?" Gray asked himself. "Or could it be...we were teleported somewhere?"

"Gray-Sama! It's no use...Juvia wasn't able to locate Wendy or Carla…"

"I'll go searching for them this time. Look after Erza for me."

"Yes!"

 **X**

"Gray! Juvia! Erza!" Wendy and Carla shouted.

"What should we do...It seems we've been separated."

"What about their scents?"

"I've got nothing…"

 **X**

"Where exactly are we…?" Makarov asked.

"Outside?! How did we get outdoors all of a sudden?!" Jet yelled.

"More importantly, where the hell is this?! What's going on?!" Wakaba complained.

"A lot of our guildmates aren't here!"

"What about the first?! Has anyone seen her?!" Cana asked.

"What the hell…? This can't be right!" Warren said.

"Whatever, just work your magic and calculate our current location!" Max told him.

"Eh?" Mira asked.

"Why are you all here…?" Lisanna said, confused.

"Mira...Lisanna…" Jet said.

"Weren't the two of you up north?" Droy asked.

"The sky started shining, and all of a sudden…" Mira told them.

"Same thing happened to us…"

"It's the enemy! There's a huge army right nearby!" Alzack announced. "They're heading straight for us!"

"Master!" Mira looked at him.

"Prepare for battle."

"Fiore's geography...it's completely different!" Warren said to himself.

 **X**

You'll be alright now...I've shrunk your wound to a negligible size." Brandish told August. "What did you do, August?"

"This was not my doing. It's Eileen' Compression Magic."

"Compression Magic?"

"She enchanted the entire nation with her magic, and changed its very shape."

"I can't believe it…"

"And as a result, the people of Fiore were rearranged atop this newly modified geography. Randomly, at that."

"What could she possibly stand to gain by…"

"These were the side effects of her effort to 'rearrange' a particular person to a particular place. In all likelihood, her aim was to send His Majesty as close to Fairy Heart as possible, and Acnologia somewhere far in the distance."

"In other words, in order to end the war as soon as possible…"

 **X**

"...! Cana! Cana! Where are you?!" Mavis called out, waking up from her sudden pass out. "Ugh...my body still won't move the way I want it to...Cana!" She snapped her fingers, creating new clothes for her.

"Alright...at least I'm able to use magic. Although these clothes are merely an illusion…" Mavis said, walking up the stairs into the main hall.

"No one's here...the guild is completely empty. The whole area was enveloped by a brilliant light just now...What exactly was that? !" She turned around to find Zeref sitting at one of the tables.

"Zeref!"

"Mavis…"

"What happened to everyone...You couldn't have…!"

"No...This wasn't my handiwork. To be honest with you, this entire situation...has me rather perplexed as well."

"What business do you have here?!"

"What business do you have being alive…?"

"..." Zeref stood up and started walking around. "This was the work of one of my subordinate's magic spells. You see, she can reconstruct the land as she wishes. That light from before was the casting of it, and now everyone of your friends was moved somewhere else. So in a sense, everything that was going on stopped, and was 're-written.'"

"So you're saying that all of the people within the kingdom were split up and sent randomly to various places?"

"Of course. The same goes for my allies as well. And that's not all." He started walking towards her. "The overall landscape of Fiore has grown smaller."

"...!"

"I'd estimate about 1/20th of its former size...perhaps less."

"For the sake of increasing the encounter rate between Fairy Tail and the Alvarez Army?"

"Correct...I'd wager that's her aim. In her own way, Eileen is trying to end this war while it's still in the early stages. And thanks to her efforts...Here I stand. And that which I seek, Fairy Heart...Is right before my very eyes." he said, looking down at her.

 **X**

"It may have been my first attempt at using this magic, but it appears the end results were quite favorable. At the very least, his majesty is now on Fairy Tail's doorstep. And Acnologia is probably floating around in the ocean somewhere right about now. Now then...In truth, not even I know where I ended up, but this is quite the place you have here. Having said all that, where is this?"

"Wha...Just who are you?!" Arcadios asked.

"You used it, and now they're all separated." Yury told Eileen, appearing behind her.

"Yes, I wanted to end this war as soon as possible. Are they confused?"

"Very. Nevermind that, though. It seems we have guests." Yury said, turning to the inhabitants of Mercurius."

"Who are you two?!" Arcadios yelled.

"Citizens of Alakatasia." Eileen responded.

"What did you do to this land?"

"I used a special magic of mine to reconstruct the geography of this country. It's only about 1/20 of the size it used to be. Therefore, every landmark was compressed into this small area."

"Why would you bother doing that?" he asked angrily.

"I know for a fact that the Royal Family isn't involved in this war, so why should I bother revealing my motives to you?"

"Because you both look like someone we know."

"Do we now? I bet I know who." she said maliciously.

"It doesn't matter if you know those two or not. We're leaving. Let's go, Eileen."

"Yes." They started walking towards the others.

"Guards! Don't let them take another step forward!" Hisui commanded.

"...Drop." Yury said before he unleashed a fraction of his enormous magic power. The two continued walking through the hall, and as they passed by someone, they'd instantly fall over from the sheer magnitude of his presence.

"Lovely palace you have here. So long." Eileen said as the two left.

 **X**

"Look at this!" Happy said suddenly.

"Kardia Cathedral and Mercurius?!" Lucy screamed, the two buildings literally right next to each other.

"Were they always this close together?" Natsu asked. "Buildings that were formerly in completely different towns are now in the same place…" he muttered.

 **X**

"...Urgh…." *Cough cough*

"Where the hell am I…? Last I checked, I was...Dea…! So what are you supposed to be?" he asked a forming cloud in front of him. "A fellow resident of Hell?"

"..."

"Huh? Who the hell are you…?"

"I am Zera. One of the Fairies of Origin." she told Gajeel, completely forming.

 **X**

"Okay, now where am I?" Layla asked, looking around. "This looks like the Domus Flau...And it's kind of melted from when Natsu was here...Am I in Crocus then? Although anything is possible when Eileen uses that magic…"

"Well, well...Look who I found…"

"Hm?" Layla turned around to see someone familiar.

"I've been traveling all around, and was just on my way back to the guild, when I sense magic power so strong that it makes me look like a pushover. And look where it leads me to." he chuckled.

"Heh. It's been a while, Gildarts."

"Likewise."

 **End.**


	3. Gods

"I am Zera. One of the Fairies of Origin."

"..."

"...I just can't do it! Oh, I'm so nervous...I'm not good at meeting new people~!" she ran and hid behind a nearby tree.

"...The hell's her deal? ...So? Are we in heaven, or hell? Spit it out already."

"Neither...On the contrary, you're still alive."

"..."

"By complete happenstance, someone activated a powerful magic which distorted the world itself, resulting in people being transferred to random locations. So I'm guessing, when you were on the verge of being drawn into the underworld, the magic shifted your destination and you ended up all the way out here, sound about right?"

"Holy...Crap...I really did...want to walk with you...side by side...forever...I actually said those things…..Where the hell are we, anyway?"

"Tenrou Island. It's fused to the continent by land now, but this is Fairy Tail's Holy Land."

"And who're y-"

"I told you, I'm Zera."

"That name means nothing to me...just tell me who you are!"

"Ugh...That Mavis...I guess she hasn't talked about me to any of the guild members, huh...This is also just another coincidence, but...Mavis, who had been in this long state of stasis, finally woke up at the exact moment that the World Reconstruction Magic was cast. And as a reaction to her awakening, I was born...No, I suppose it would be more appropriate to say I was revived."

"?" Gajeel was completely lost.

"Basically...for a brief moment, Mavis' magic power and though process were reset. Due to that, my existence was temporarily, and subconsciously, restored."

"You lost me a while ago, but I guess what you're trying to say is...you were born because of some effect of the first waking up?"

"Well...In layman terms, yes, I guess that's accurate. But just to be clear, this is only temporary. The very instant Mavis remembers everything regarding me...In all likelihood, I'll vanish."

"..."

"It may only be for a short while, but since I've finally been revived and all...I guess I'll have to pull my weight while I'm here, huh? ...Wait a minute, you...You can hear my voice right?! And you can see me, right?!"

"Uhhhh….yeah."

"Mavis...her magic's gotten a lot stronger!"

"I hate to break it to ya, but I ain't got time to be playing around in a place like this."

"Of course! I'm on your side, after all! Let's go! We'll protect Fairy Tail together!"

 **X**

"Kardia Cathedral and the Royal Palace…" Lucy breathed.

"The hell's going on? Are ya' telling me Magnolia and Crocus have fused together?"

"But the guild's not there! Not only that, the entire town...all of the other buildings are gone!" Happy said, scouting in the air.

"What?!"

"This has got to be a joke…"

"Wait. Someone's coming...This smell…" Gray, Juvia, and Erza came out from behind another side of the building.

"Gray! Juvia!" Natsu and Lucy said happily.

"Natsu. Lucy and Happy too!" Gray and Juvia said.

"Is that Erza with you?"

"Yeah...she's really beat up, though…"

"We were on our way back to the guild."

"Being back at the guild sounds really good right about now…"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm so worried about Carla~!"

"That's all well and good...But we've got no clue where the guild went!"

"This is gonna be a huge pain in our asses…"

 **X**

Back in the palace, Eileen stood above all of the royal guards, who were on the floor, beaten.

'W-What monstrous strength...It defies logic…!' Arcadios thought.

"I...I beg of you! Do with me what you will! But please, my daughter...Spare my daughter!" Eileen turned around and looked at Hisui, who was crying. Eileen sighed.

"Honestly, after being able to stand up again after feeling Yury's Magic Power, I thought you might have some merit. But not a single one of you even comes close to matching up to me, let alone him...And after we tried to leave peacefully too...You could have all survived, but now you're begging for forgiveness from your own mistakes...I don't think so." She stretched her hand out towards Hisui before a blast of light hit her, making her cry out.

"Hisui!"

"P-Princess…!" Hisui turned into a mouse.

"Wha...What have you done?! Toma cried out.

'She transformed the princess into a mouse?!'

"Do you still have love for her, even in that pathetic form?" Eileen asked maliciously. "Can you truly look her in the eyes and say you love her?"

"Of course I can you fiend! No matter how she looks, she'll always be my daughter! Worry not, Hisui...I shall return you to your original form, even if it kills me!"

"...What a bore. …! This sensation…" she walked over to the window and looked out before enhancing her sight by forming a cross in it.

"Natsu...What is that thing?" Happy asked, pointing to the sky. Eileen's eye with her cross in it was floating above the two palaces, looking down at the guild members.

"An eye?!" Lucy yelled, dumbfounded.

"It's friggin' huge!" Gray yelled.

"Scarlet hair...It couldn't be…" Eileen muttered.

 **X**

"Little whelps…! There's no end to them!" Makarov yelled, throwing Alvarez soldiers around.

The rest of the Fairy Tail guild members were fighting them. But all of a sudden, a few of them, including Jet and Droy, were knocked back by two stronger members.

"What's with these losers? So~ We~ak!" Juliet said happily.

"Eileen Squad has joined the fray!" Heine added.

"Wanna take out Makarov~?"

"You fool! What kind of uncivilized cretin goes straight to the main dish without enjoying their appetizers?"

"Huh?"

"Oh? What have we here...It seems there is one other with formidable magic power." They looked over to where Mira was fighting off some soldiers.

"Ohooo~? She's such a cutie pie~"

"How about we have a friendly little wager...To see who can kill her first?"

"We need to get back to the guild immediately! The First is…!" Cana yelled, attacking other soldiers with her cards.

"But I've got no clue where it is…!" Warren said.

"The guild is this way…"

"!"

"Whose voice is that?" Mira asked.

"It's being transmitted directly into my head…" Makarov said.

"Who are you?!" Lisanna called out.

"Make for the guild! Everyone, you must gather at once! You've all been separated due to the enemy's magic, but...Now is the time to act as one!"

"So the guild's over that way, eh?" Natsu asked.

"I guess we have no choice but to go." Lucy added.

"Aye."

"Let's be real, though...Is this voice trustworthy?" Gray asked.

"Could it be yet another love-rival…?"

"Mavis is in a lot of trouble! She is a mother-like figure to all of you! Head towards the guild, and make haste! Return to the guild...To Mavis' side...And protect her!"

"Damn straight!" Natsu yelled.

 **X**

"What exactly are you doing here?" Gildarts asked.

"My friend used a spell that compresses the continent into a smaller size. As a result, everyone was scattered, and all of the landmarks were moved to different places. I happened to end up here."

"I see."

"So you're heading back to the guild...I'm surprised that you don't know about the war."

"Ha! You think I don't know about it?"

"You do then? Why aren't you helping the others then?"

"What do you think I was doing this whole time? I was gathering information on your forces."

"Were you now? And what did you find out?"

"That you have a lot of ground soldiers, and then personal squad members, then the Spriggan 12, and then the 4 Gods of Alakatasia."

"My, my. You know about our little group. No one else does yet, you know. We haven't revealed ourselves."

"Yeah, I figured. I know more about your friends than you know." he said, taking a more serious tone.

"What do you mean?" she asked,, turning around and facing him.

"One of your generals, Dimaria Yesta, is able to use a Takeover God Soul Spell, gaining the powers of Chronos, the God of Time. You four are similar. In fact, there's a fifth member that can use the same magic, but who hasn't joined you yet. What exactly are you?" Layla's smile disappeared, and a dark look appeared on her face.

"So you know then...Yes, the five of us...The Five Gods of Alakatasia. We are not actually gods, per se… we are just incredibly powerful mages who were chosen by the gods. You see, the Primordial Deities choose certain mages every now and then to give their powers to. Because of this, these mages are often natural prodigies, and possess unreal amounts of magic power. They are able to use their full powers and unleash their magical abilities to the fullest by using Take Over God Soul and using the powers of their respective God. So there you have it...Do you know who the five of us are?"

"Yes. Silver, Eileen, Zeref, Yury, and you."

"Yes, that's right. Well, now that you know, I can't allow you to live." Gildarts frowned.

"...Is what I'd normally say, but considering our history together, as well as the fact that I don't have the time to fight you right now, I'll let you live. Besides, it's not as if the guild can stop us, even if they do know. So long." She created a black portal and left.

"..."

 **X**

"...Alright, here it is." Layla said, arriving at some of the rubble of Magnolia.

"This is the very place that Silver lost to Gray. His body's not here, but unlike Keyes, I have more magic power and revive someone without their body. They're also revived to the point that they're actually living again, not just a walking corpse that disappears when the caster does." Layla gathered her magic power around her, manifesting itself into a black aura, and then pointed two fingers to the sky, and two fingers down at the ground. A black beam shot into the sky, and a white one at the ground. And before long, Silver's body began reconstructing itself, becoming fully functional again. He sighed before placing his hand behind his neck and moving it around a bit.

"Feel good?" Layla asked, smiling.

"God damn woman, what took you so long to revive me?"

"I had to wait for the right opportunity. But now you're back."

"Yeah, and it's good to be back. The final act is about to begin."

"The final act?"

"Most plays have two acts, but some have three. My own life has three: my time in Fairy Tail, my time in Tartaros, and now as a God of Alvarez."

"I see." she chuckled. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." Layla created another portal, and the two walked through it.

 **X**

The portal reappeared in the palace's conference room back in Vistarion. Yury looked over, seeing the two re-enter the room.

"Oh, Silver. You're finally here."

"Yo." he walked over to the table and sat in the chair across from him. Layla sat next to him.

"Your new armor that you wanted is in your room, by the way."

"With everything I asked for?"

"Yeah. Jet black armor, gold trim, red cape, and the two symbols on each shoulder. Alvarez's on the left shoulder, and the symbol for Uranus on the right."

"Perfect. I'll go get it." he said, standing up and heading to his room.

"Oh, by the way, Gildarts knows about us." Layla said suddenly.

"How much?"

"He knows that we're able to use God Soul Magic." Silver stopped and looked towards her. Yury's eyes widened.

"How the hell did he find out?"

"I'm not sure, but this whole time while the war was going on, he was probably doing research on us, and probably before that too, when Tartaros attacked, and Avatar appeared."

"...Does he know what gods we have and what powers we use?"

"I'm not sure, at least I don't think so. But I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's not like anyone in either Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, or Oracion Seis can stop us...Now then, I have to go get ready. I'm singing at the club tonight." she stood up and went to her room.

 **X**

"August, who exactly are these Five Gods of Alakatasia?"

"They are the five strongest members of the Empire, and the five strongest mages in the world, each of them even stronger than Acnologia when they use all of their power."

"Stronger than you?"

"Yes, by far Brandish. You see, just like Dimaria, they have the ability to use God Soul, granting them incredible magic power, far beyond my own. But unlike her, the gods that chose them are five of the strongest gods in history, some of the first to appear. Whereas Chronos is a primordial god and the God of Time, he doesn't have the ability to create things, unlike the others. The five gods also have much stronger powers than time manipulation."

"Wh-Who are they?"

"Ranked Fifth is Silver Fullbuster, who is the embodiment of Uranus, the first King of the Gods, and the Primordial God of the Heavens and Skies. Ranked Fourth is Eileen, who is the embodiment of Gaia, the Primordial Goddess of the Earth, and the creator of almost all living creatures and monsters. Ranked Third is His Majesty himself, Zeref, the embodiment of Erebus, the Primordial God of Darkness and Shadow. Ranked Second is Yury Dreyar, the embodiment of Aether, the Primordial God of Light. And ranked first is Layla Heartfilia, who is the embodiment of Nyx, the Primordial Goddess of the Night."

 **End.**

 **Yes, God Soul Magic. Interesting idea, right? Anyway, for those of you who are familiar with Greek mythology, often the very beginnings are not well known. At the very start of the universe is Chaos, an endless void, from who Nyx, the night, and Erebus, the darkness, emerge. The two then create Aether, light, and Hemera, day. Gaia, the earth, then appeared, and she then created Uranus, the heavens. And there's a bunch of others, but these main seven are considered the strongest, and first gods, feared by even Zeus and the Titans. I tried to pick gods that would match their magics: for Silver, I was going to give him Boreas at first, since he's the God of the North Wind and Winter. But since Boreas is not primordial, that would have made Silver weaker than Dimaria, which I didn't want. So I decided to give him Uranus, and I'll make some powers for him. For Eileen, I tried to find someone who was known for creation, as she essentially adds things into the atmosphere in order to cast spells, thus being an enchantress. There were a few, but I decided to go with Gaia, as Eileen can change the Earth's landscape and manipulate it as she wishes. Zeref was a no brainer, Erebus is both male and the god of darkness and shadow, tying in perfectly with his Black Arts. Ankhseram is a god in the Fairy Tail universe who cursed Zeref with his magic, but since this was after Zeref was born, it couldn't have been him. Yury was easy, it had to be Aether for light. For Layla, I was going to go with Hephaestus, since he is the god of fire, hence keeping with Layla's Fire Devil Slaying Magic. But Hephaestus is not primordial, so I decided to go with Nyx, as she was known to be beautiful and ridiculously powerful. Layla's black colored magic power is a result of both the Black Arts and Nyx's powers. I hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Secrets

**I realized that if I go along with the manga, things will take too long to work out. So, I'm going to try a balance between the 5 gods and the actual war. I have to put in a little more of my work and not stick to the manga's storyline too much. I'm also going to list the songs you might want to listen to, like how I do it with The Order. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Yury Appears: Dark Future (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Yury vs. Mira: Grand Wizard Bluenote (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Laxus Appears: Laxus' Theme (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Laxus vs. Yury: Released Power (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Yury's Dragon Slaying Magics: Blind Animal (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Laxus and Mira Lose: Tsuioku Mezameru Tamashii (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Yury Leaves: Requiem For The Lost Ones (Bleach OST)**

"It seems that Mira's Satan Soul Alegria took out Eileen's little helpers." Silver said, sitting at the table with and Yury.

"Oh? She absorbed Alegria's Soul, did she? She's a strong one…" Yury said, reading from one of Layla's books.

"I'm getting bored just sitting around here. Now that Eileen is starting to act out, I think I will too." he said, standing up and creating a portal of light, walking into it, then disappearing.

 **X**

"Satan Soul: Mirajane Alegria!"

"Wha...What is that?!" Juliet and Heine yelled.

"After our battle with Tartaros, there were plenty of souls ripe for the taking. So I went and devoured them all." Mira said, licking her lips.

"This woman is seriously bad news! Her magic power is drying up the seawater! You...You monster!" Heine screamed, completely overtaken by fear.

"Indeed I am...I've been called that, and far worse, for as long as I can remember. So it doesn't phase me anymore. Having said that...that's no way to address a lady!" she yelled, dashing past them at a blistering speed, and striking both of them. A massive explosion was created, and Mira exited it, now in her normal state once again.

"The one huge drawback is...it consumes a massive amount of my magic power...I'm asking politely here, so please...do me a favor and don't stand back up…..!" Suddenly, the two girls became enveloped in a cloud of white smoke, and when it cleared, they were reverted into two swords, a white one and a black one.

"White and black...swords?! An enchantment technique?! Do you mean to tell me...a 'personality' was enchanted onto the swords?! That...can't be...to think there would be such a fearsome mage among the enemy's ranks…" Before she knew it, Eileen had landed right behind her. Mira gasped, feeling the weight of Eileen's magic power.

"It seems you showed my 'children' quite a bit of affection...how nice of you."

'Wha...What is this magic power…?! It's beyond terrifying…"

"Oh, come now. Someone as strong as you is this scared of me? My magic power may be comparable to Zeref's, but it doesn't even come close to theirs…." She swiped her hand to the side, causing the swords to unravel and strap themselves around her, knocking her into a boulder. She snapped her fingers on her other hand, causing Juliet's sticky white substance to appear out of the sword, and start dripping down Mira's body. Her skin burned, and she cried out in pain.

"I will not let you die a swift, easy death. First things first...I'll take that beautiful white, silky skin...and make it so unsightly, you'll look more disgusting than a worn out dust rag. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be no more than a lump or rotting meat that would make everyone avert their eyes. She began screaming again.

"Eileen. Those habits of yours are uncouth, to say the least."

"Oh my~It's so nice to see you again, Lord August. And Brandish is with you as well? You've grown so big, I hardly recognize you."

"Hello." was all she said.

"You went and used Universe One without His Majesty's permission, I see."

"Indeed. With Acnologia staring me in the face, I'm afraid even I had little choice but to take drastic measures. That said, I not only successfully drove him away for the time being...But I managed to send His Majesty straight to Fairy Tail while I was at it. You have no grounds on which to criticize or reprimand me, wouldn't you say?"

"For now, the twelve shall gather and convene at His Majesty's side."

"Well I don't want to! I'll move as I like, and that's that!"

"This is my decision as the general of the Spriggan 12. There will be no compromises."

"Stop bickering, both of you."

"!" August backed off, and Eileen looked over to the right. Yury walked towards them.

"Oh, and look who graces us with his presence." she joked.

"..." August didn't say anything.

"Knock it off. And stop acting so high and mighty, August. She's stronger than you." he called him out. Eileen smirked.

"Lord Yury, I-" he said somewhat angrily.

"Oh? Don't get pissy with me. Or need I remind you who you're talking to?" he snapped back, with some of his yellow magic power surging around him, causing the ground to start cracking. Brandish fell onto her knees and started gasping. Mira did the same, but she couldn't fall to the ground, as much as she wanted to.

"Yury, I'm not so sure you'll want to do that with these two so close to you. You may end up suffocating and killing them by accident." Eileen chuckled.

"Hell if I care. Although, I did promise her that I wouldn't kill that one, so…" Yury glanced at Mira before suppressing his powers again. Mira had tears in her eyes, and could barely breathe.

'Th...The magic power of those two...It completely defies common sense...But his….is in a completely different league altogether!'

"...So be it. I'll let you save face...on this occasion. That being said...I'm going to finish off this little girl who dared raise her hands against my beloved 'children'. I won't compromise on th-"

August cut her off by firing a piercing beam of light through Mira's chest, surprising the other two.

"I pierced her heart. I assume that will suffice?" he asked. Mira fell down off the boulder and lay still on the ground.

"I am moved by your kindness, August. How unbefitting of one called 'The Calamity.' I suppose this works for me. Shall we be off, then? Yury? Are you coming?"

"...No. I'm going to stay here for a while."

"Oh? For what reason? Will Zeref be mad that you're late?"

"No, of course not. He won't mind if I show up a little late. And my reasons are none of your concern. I rank higher than you, Eileen. Leave me be. That's an order."

"..." They left without another word. A short while later, Lisanna came running towards her sister.

"Miraaa! I know, I know...but there was no way I was gonna leave you behi-...This can't be...Mira! This can't be happening!" Suddenly, she came back to life, and began coughing.

"My wound was made smaller…"

"I'm glad you're alright! We should head back to the guild!"

"I'm afraid we have something more important to take care of. Look over there." She pointed to Yury, who was staring off into the distance with his arms crossed.

"Another member of the Spriggan 12?" Lisanna asked.

"I don't think so...He's stronger than the rest of them. He might be above them…" He turned towards them.

"You…..You must be those two Take Over sisters, Mirajane and Lisanna."

"What of it?!" Lisanna yelled at him.

"I have orders from above to leave you alive." He pointed at Mira. "But she didn't say anything about you." He started walking towards Lisanna.

"N-No, stop! Please, leave her out of this!" Mira pleaded.

"Mira, it will be okay." Lisanna started running towards him. "Take Over Animal Soul: Cat!" she cast, transforming her feet and hands into claws.

Yury extended one arm out calmly before tapping her forehead with two fingers, causing her to stop in her tracks.

'W-What just happened…? This guy….he stopped me with just his killing intent alone?!'

Suddenly, a huge burst of magic power exploded around him, covering him in a yellow aura. He lowered his fingers and pointed to the ground, where Lisanna fell onto her knees. Tears started to form in her eyes.

"Normally, it takes someone with some kind of skill in sensing magic power to be able to feel it in the first place. But when you get to mages like August and Eileen, and myself, the powers are so massive that people feel it even when we walk towards them. What you're feeling now...is about 30% of my full magical capacity, only about a third of what I can really project." he said menacingly.

"W-Wha-?" Mira whispered. 30%?! That's it?! This guy is insane! 30% and he was noticeably stronger than August, rumored to be the strongest member of the Spriggan 12.

"Well, I have good news and bad news for you, Lisanna. The good news is that you're not who I'm here for, so you'll escape unharmed. The bad news is that your sister has to deal with me without your help. Goodbye." He said simply, creating a light portal and forcing Lisanna into it with a gust of wind.

"Miraaaaaa!" she cried before the portal closed, separating her from her sister. Yury sighed, and walked towards Mira again.

"Stay away from me…" she said, scared.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me, if I had orders to kill you, you would be dead already." He stood in front of her, and moved her head from side to side with his fingers.

"Hmm...So you're the one who killed Seilah."

"Huh? How do you know about that?"

"Did you forget already? All of Tartaros' members were Zeref's demons, his creations. Seilah and Keyes were allied with us, and worked with some of our members. She was such a sweetheart, too. A shame."

"She wasn't really that way to us." Mira told him.

"Well, she gets that way with her enemies. That's what made her an effective killer though. She wasn't soft. It's another problem that the five of us don't have."

"The five of you?"

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you. The five strongest members of the Alvarez Empire, are called the Five Gods of Alakatasia."

"It's like the Four Gods of Ishgar."

"Right. I know, we're not very original. But we're stronger than your four. A clone of myself wiped out your other three gods, as well as the fifth Wizard Saint."

"What?! Wait...the other three? You're...God Serena? The first God of Ishgar?"

"Well, former first God."

'I have to get out of here. This man is way beyond what I can take care of. Besides, I used up most of my power taking down those two girls…' Mira quickly blasted a ball of darkness at Yury before standing up and trying to run off.

"You brat. Get back here!" he yelled, suddenly making his magic power surge. Mira tripped and fell onto the ground, now unable to move. Yury walked back towards her, slowly. Mira glanced into his eyes, afraid. This was stupid. She shouldn't have tried to run. He was so calm before, and she ruined it. Now his magic power was destroying the very earth that he treaded on, and the look in his eyes turned into one of anger. Tears started streaming down her face. This man was going to kill her, and no one would ever find her. She was alone, and was about to be murdered. He stood in front of her, looking down.

"You're much stronger than your little sister, I'll give you that. What you're feeling now is about 50% of my magic power, and from the looks of it, it's enough to make you cry uncontrollably. It's rather unlucky that you ran into me, Mirajane Strauss."

'Uh-oh. Bad news. He said my full name, that's never a good sign.'

"Of the five of us, I'm the most merciless, the least sympathetic. I know that I'm not supposed to, but you're not one of our top targets, so I'll be off the hook if I kill you here. So long." He charged up a beam of light on his hand and aimed it for her head.

'Someone...save me…'

"Hmph." He fired the beam, and Mira closed her eyes.

"MERCURY FULMINATE: RED LIGHTNING!"

When Mira opened her eyes, she didn't see Serena anywhere. All she saw was Laxus, standing in front of her, his fist extended and covered in red lightning.

"Haah...haah…" he panted, before turning around and sitting opposite Mira.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"LAXUS!" she sobbed, grabbing his coat and hugging him.

"Are you hurt at all, Mira?"

"Not from him, no...what did you do?"

"I hit him hard, to send him away from us. But I doubt that I actually hurt him all that much. He'll be back before long, so we should leave quickly."

"I'm not really sure I can walk very well...and are you sure you should be moving in your condition? You look pretty worn out yourself."

"I'll be okay, it's been a while now since I last fought, so I had some time to rest up."

"Some time to rest up won't do you any good, Laxus."

"Damn…!"

Yury was walking back towards them again, and once again, half of his magic power was released. Mira was sobbing once again. Laxus stood up and faced him.

"...You see Laxus, if I project more of my magic power to hold you down, your friend might suffocate and die. Clearly, half isn't enough to really faze you."

"Instead of just upping your magic power to defeat your opponents, how about actually fighting them?" Laxus smirked.

"I'm the type of mage that only uses his powers when it's necessary. Normally, if my opponent can withstand a significant amount of my magic power, then I'll begin fighting them."

"Well, I've proven that I can withstand half of it. Wouldn't you say that's enough to fight me seriously?"

"Hmph. Very Well!"

Laxus rushed towards Yury with his red lightning encompassing his body. Yury moved to the side and dodged it before holding his hand out.

"Sweep away the darkness, Rain of Light." He fired five light beams from his fingertips, that all homed in on Laxus and hit him. He shook it off and fired a burst of lightning at him.

'Damn...His Light Magic hurts a lot harder than Gramps' does...he's probably mastered it more…'

Yury opened his mouth and began eating Laxus' lightning.

"What?! You're-?!"

"Yeah. It doesn't matter what kind of lightning, I'll consume it when I get the chance. You're the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Well, let me show you a power beyond that!"

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

"Voltaic Dragon's Surging Discharge!" Yury channeled lightning onto his fingertips and slammed down on the ground, making a field of electricity. Laxus tried to inhale it, but it didn't work, and simply electrocuted him.

"Hrgh! Why can't I absorb it?!"

"Ivan wasn't very efficient when he planted that Lightning Lacrima in you as a child. My lacrima is a stronger form of lightning, blue electricity, Voltaic Dragon Slaying Magic. And the red lightning is different from both of these as well. The point is, the only electricity that you can actually eat is your own type, regular lightning, nothing more powerful than that."

"Bastard…"

"...Let me ask you something, Laxus. Do you know who I am?"

"Huh? What kind of question is that? You're God Serena."

"No, no. That's not what I meant. Do you think God Serena is my real name? Of course not. My true identity. Do you know what it is?"

"How am I supposed to know that? No, I don't."

"By the end of this battle, you will."

"..."

"Cavern Dragon's Earth Destruction!" He placed his hands on the ground again and applied pressure. The ground suddenly started shaking violently before it cracked and shattered, leaving Yury and Laxus on two different cliffs.

'Yeah, I heard about this guy from Gramps. Apparently, he has eight different Dragon Slaying Lacrima implanted in him, so he can use eight types of Dragon Slaying Magic.'

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"

"Purgatory Dragon's Blazing Hell!" Yury charged up dark red fire on his fist and blasted it towards Laxus, creating a huge explosion that burned him.

"Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!" He waved his hands towards Laxus, and a huge torrent of water crashed upon him.

"Voltaic Dragon's Surging Discharge!" He extended his hands and blue electricity shot off, electrocuting him and the water.

"Gale Dragon's Bursting Whirlwind!" He gathered spheres of wind around his fists and blasted them at Laxus, creating a hurricane that continuously cut his body.

"Ice Dragon's Crystal Storm!" He clapped his hands and crossed them before quickly swiping them outwards, creating a field of pointy icicles that extended up and pierced through Laxus.

"Sand Dragon's Barreling Sand Tornado!" He slammed both hands on the ground, and the white sand nearby created a huge tsunami that flowed towards Laxus, trapping him in it. When it was finished, Laxus fell limply down towards the ground. Before he hit it though, still in midair, Yury used his final spell.

"Darkness Dragon's Roar." He blasted a beam of purple, black, and red energy towards him, tearing through the ground, and destroying the last of Laxus' strength. Yury walked towards him before throwing him back the other way, landing next to Mira.

"Laxus, are you alright?!" she screamed.

"Damn it…." He could barely stand, and coughed up blood. Yury stood above the both of them.

"You." was all he said before he looked at Mira. His magic power spiked before she lost consciousness and her hand fell limply to her side.

"Laxus, I'll ask you once more. Do you know who I am?"

"Grrrrrr…...Why are you on their side? More importantly, why are you even alive?! Yury!"

"I'm immortal, like Zeref. As for why I'm still alive, well...Do some digging in Fairy Tail's library. I'm sure you'll find something in there about my past in your guild. Heh. I'll tell Layla that you said hello." He turned around.

"! What did you say…?!"

"Oh, you didn't know? She's alive and well. Practically running our whole operation, our whole empire, along with Zeref."

"..."

"I know you don't know me, but you know her. And let me tell you something. If you can't beat me, you'll never stand a chance against her. Never…..So long." He walked away. Laxus felt the last of his strength leave him, and he fell forward, passing out. His hand fell into Mira's, and they lay there, defeated.

 **X**

"...Well well. What do we have here? You two got yourself into a real mess, didn't you? Alright. I guess I'll bring you back to the guild."

 **X**

Laxus opened his eyes slowly, and looked around. He saw the guild's infirmary. Was that right? The last thing he remembered was getting his ass kicked by Yury.

"Mira…" He looked over to his right to find another bed with Mirajane in it. She was asleep. Laxus slowly sat up and tapped her.

"Mira. Mira, wake up."

"Hunh? ….Laxus?" She glanced over, still half asleep.

"Laxus!" She sat up and got out of bed, examining her wounds.

"I'm pretty healed...How about you?"

"Yeah, me too." He got up and saw that his scratches, bruises, and other injuries were almost completely healed, though he did have a few bandages still on. He put on a shirt and his coat, and started walking out. Mira followed him after putting on a new dress. They slowly walked downstairs to where the rest of the guild was, now all back together.

"Hey, Laxus, Mira!" Lucy said happily. Everyone looked up and cheered when they saw the two out of bed and coming down.

"H-Hey."

"Come sit with us."

"That's alright, I'm not planning on sticking around for long."

"Laxus, are you going to-?" Makarov started.

"Yeah. I assume you heard? Yeah. Mystogan and Gildarts told me."

"Mystogan? He's here?"

Makarov pointed over to one of the tables, where he was sitting.

"How come you never told me you were here?"

"You were unconscious. I'm the one who brought you two here in the first place."

"I see."

"Thank you." Mira told him. "Wait a minute, why are you here in the first place?"

"Well, that has to do with the war and the empire."

"In any case, I'm going now."

"I'm afraid you won't be allowed to yet." Gildarts said, walking into the main hall.

"And why not?"

"Because the Magic Council wants to bring you in for questioning regarding this incident."

"...Fine." He walked out the door and headed towards the council's branch building.

"He's not the only one. Mystogan, Lucy, Master, you three as well."

"Alright. I'm coming." Makarov stood up and walked towards the exit. Mystogan did the same.

"Um, me? For what?" Lucy asked.

"It's classified at the moment. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anymore." Gildarts said.

"I'll come too. I'll wait for you all outside." Mira said.

"...Okay. Let's go."

"Hold on! I'm going too!" Natsu protested.

"No. You're not involved in this." Mystogan said harshly.

"Just let him come." Lucy said. And with that, the six of them went off.

 **X**

The four saints brought each of them into a separate room for questioning. Lucy went with Jura, Makarov went with Warrod, Mystogan went with Wolfheim, and Laxus went with Hyberion. Gildarts waited for one of them to be done.

 **W/ Lucy**

"Alright, Lucy. Ready to start?"

"Sure, I guess. But what is this about?"

"You mean...you don't know? Gildarts or Mystogan didn't tell you?"

"Um, no."

"Oh, great. Makes my job harder. Alright, some of this may not be easy for you to accept, if it's true."

"Okay….?"

"Lucy...how well did you know your mother?"

"E-Excuse me?"

"Your mother, Layla. How well did you know her?"

"H-How do you know about my mother?"

"Just answer the questions please, Lucy. We don't have all day." he sighed.

"...Well, I'm her daughter. It should be obvious I knew her better than anyone, perhaps save for my father."

"So you knew that she was a mage?"

"Yes, of course. She was the one who taught me Celestial Spirit Magic."

"Did you know what guild she was a part of?"

"It's called Love & Lucky. It's a merchant's guild."

"Yes, but I meant before that."

"Before? That's the only guild I was ever aware that she was a part of."

"So then you didn't know you mom was a member of Fairy Tail?"

"N-No! She was part of Fairy Tail?!" she said surprisingly, and somewhat excited.

"Yes, she was. You don't know anything about your grandparents, do you?"

"My grandparents? No."

"Well you see, when your mother was a young girl, both of her parents died tragically in a fire. She traveled around for a while, learning magic herself, before being invited to join Fairy Tail at the age of 13."

"And so she was a member of the guild."

"An excellent one at that. Considering that you were very young when you were still with her, you probably didn't know the full scope of her powers, did you?"

"I guess not, if you're saying that she was more than a Celestial Spirit Mage."

"Your mother was a master of Heavenly Body magic as well, and her magic power was beyond anyone's imagination. She became an S-Class Mage, and the most powerful one in the guild's history. She's the only one in the history of the world to successfully complete a Century Quest."

"W-Wow….I never knew…."

"Gildarts admitted to us that he sparred with her lots of times, and could never once beat her."

"That powerful….?"

"Alright, thank you. The rest of the questions we want to do as a group, so you can go back to the courtroom now. We'll continue in there."

"Oh. Alright." She got up and exited the room.

 **W/ Laxus**

"Alright Laxus. Let's start. How well did you know Layla Heartfilia?"

"Very. She'd share things with me that she wouldn't with anybody else."

"Oh? What kinds of things."

"Secrets. Some of them little, but some of them bigger. For example, I was probably the only one who knew that she could use the Black Arts."

"Not even Makarov knew?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no."

"I see. What was she to you? Why share these secrets with you?"

"She was my teacher, the one who taught me magic. As for why she shared them with me, it was because we were close enough that I shared some of my secrets with her as well. At the time, she was the only one besides Gramps and my father who knew that I was a Dragon Slayer. Of course everyone in the guild knows now, but when I was a kid, I didn't want anyone to know that my lacrima was forcefully implanted in me."

"So were you aware that she completed a Century Quest?"

"Yes, although I don't know the details of the assignment she had to complete."

"That's alright, we'll explain it to everyone afterwards. So, did you know that she fell ill with Magical Deficiency Disease?"

"Yes."

"Did you know that she survived it?"

"No. I only learned just yesterday that she's still alive."

"I see. Thank you. You can go back to the courtroom now."

 **X**

"Everyone arrived back in, and sat on some of the benches, whereas the Wizard Saints went to the judge's seat.

"Alright. Thanks to the information that Gildarts and Mystogan provided us, we have a pretty clear idea of what Alvarez is up to." Hyberion started.

"Gildarts, would you like to explain? You're the one who knows the most about this."

"Yes, but let's do it back at the guild. Everyone should know."

"Okay."

 **X**

Gildarts stepped to the front of the guild, where he was about to explain Layla's connection to everything.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you in the fight against Tartaros. While all this happened, I was researching Alvarez's forces, trying to find out more about their commanders and what kinds of magic they possess. And what I learned was quite shocking. The Spriggan 12 are not the strongest members, and are not the ones in charge. There are five mages above them that control the rest of them."

"Five mages? Stronger than the 12?!" Gray yelled.

'Two of them have to be Yury and Layla…' Laxus thought.

"They call themselves the Five Gods of Alakatasia, the five strongest wizards in the world. Silver Fullbuster, Eileen Belserion, Zeref, Yury Dreyar, and Layla Heartfilia."

The whole guild was silent.

"I know what you're all thinking: Some of you have never heard of these names, and some of you know them quite well. But save your questions for after I tell you this story."

"Haha...After you tell the story…? But won't your version have a lot of holes and incorrect information? Why don't I just tell it myself?"

Everyone shot their heads over to the bar, where Layla was making a drink.

"When did you get here?" Gildarts asked.

"Just now, actually."

"M-Mom…?" Lucy muttered.

"Ah, I haven't seen you in so long, Luce." She walked over and kissed her daughter's cheek.

"How are you?"

"Why are you alive?" she was starting to tear up. 

"I told you that I would explain that. Okay?" She walked to the front of the room and sat down on one of the tables.

"Let's see...I guess it was about the year X758, so I was only ten, not thirteen, when Makarov allowed me to join Fairy Tail. He taught me the basics of magic, and I practiced on my own. I took the S-Class exam when I was 13, and passed, becoming the youngest S-Class Mage. It was about that time that I was requested by Yury, who went under the guise of God Serena, to complete a Century Quest for him."

"And what was the job? That's the key to this whole thing, right?" Mystogan asked.

"That's right." she smiled. "The job itself wasn't on the poster, the instructions were simply to meet him and hear the details in person. So later that day, they visited me, and told me of a plan that had been going on for 400 years. At the time, I was dating Jude, the current head of the Heartfilia family. He had been studying business, and had started up a company at a young age. Jude's company was successful, sure, but what really set us up was the payout from my job."

"How much did Yury offer you?" Mira asked.

"50 million jewels." Everyone jaw-dropped.

"The job was to open the Eclipse Gate on July 7th, X777, and allow five young dragon slayers into the future. They were sent here specifically to kill Acnologia. I'm sure you can figure out who those five are yourselves. In any case, I told him that I would accept the job on one condition: that he train me."

"Train you? But you were already extremely powerful." Makarov said.

"Well, it wasn't enough. To open the Eclipse Gate by myself would require a huge amount of magic power. And my magic power at that time may have been incredible, but I was only 13. So I had Zeref and Yury train me in the Black Arts, and the Three Great Fairy Magics."

"The Black Arts?!" Lucy screamed.

"Sure. Throw something at me, try it." Everyone was hesitant before Laxus walked over to the bar, grabbed a mug, and threw it at her.

"Death Predation." A black field appeared around her, and disintegrated the mug.

"It's true…" Natsu growled.

"In any case, it took three years to master them and get adjusted to my new magical capacity. When I was done, I had to retire all of my Celestial Spirits, as I didn't want them to get infected by my new black magic."

"Get infected?" Lucy asked.

"Of course. Remember what happened when you opened the Eclipse Gate last year? When Celestial Spirits consume black magic, they lose their personalities and become rebellious, entering their eclipse forms. Due to the strength of my magic power, if all thirteen had remained with me, they'd become eclipsed, and wouldn't be able to be restored to the way they were before. So I sent them across the continent, and the world, to my different disciples. Afterwards, I decided to leave Fairy Tail and join Love & Lucky with Jude."

"Why did you leave?" Lucy asked.

"She lied, and said that she had Magical Deficiency Disease, and didn't want to overexert her magic power, as she was going to die in the next decade or so." Gildarts responded.

"Yes, I lied. In actuality, I wouldn't get MDD for another 13 years. But my magic power had changed from being yellow and warm, to being black and somewhat cold. Clearly either Gildarts or Makarov would be able to sense that my magic power changed. It wouldn't be hard either, considering how large my power was. Three years later, you were born." she pointed to Lucy. "And as you know, at that point, we both left the guild, and remained at the mansion to raise you. Ten years later, we purposely sent you out into Magnolia for the weekend, to practice your Celestial Spirit Magic. While you were gone, August transported the Eclipse Gate into our back gardens, and Zeref and Yury attended, while I opened the gate and let our five beloved dragon slayers in. But as I'm sure you know by now, Grammi didn't get Aquarias to me in time, so I had to force myself to open the gate with my own powers. As a result, I fell ill with MDD. The doctor said it was fatal, and that I would die by the end of the year. But, I was also very well-versed in alchemy, and gave August instructions on how to make a cure. And after taking it, I got better, and was to fully recover in a week."

"Then why didn't you tell anyone?!" Lucy yelled, crying.

"Well, at that time, Jude and I weren't doing very well in our marriage. You see, with him having to run his business all day, and with me spending more and more time with Zeref, we grew pretty distant. In that week, we officially divorced, and I faked my death to travel to Alakatasia and become a commander of Alvarez."

Everyone was speechless, especially Lucy.

"...You're still not telling the entire truth." Gildarts said.

"Oh?" she smirked. "How do you know?"

"You know why. I told you I did thorough research."

"Well, too bad. I'm not telling you everything about me. Besides, I have to perform tonight."

"Perform?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, Zeref and I have been singing together at the club in Vistarion for years. Stop by sometime." she smiled sweetly. She got up and started walking away, creating a black portal. Gildarts grabbed the sleeve of her gown. She stopped and looked at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not letting you leave until you show them."

"My symbol? I don't think so. If you're so concerned about it, why don't you tell them?"

"I don't think so!" he yelled, tearing off part of her gown's sleeve, revealing a black triple goddess symbol on her shoulder. [A triple goddess symbol is the sphere with the two crescent moons next to it.] She kneed Gildarts in the stomach, causing him to fall on to his knees.

"Do you know how expensive this gown was?!" She sighed and brushed her hair out of her face, and moved her cape to the side, displaying her symbol.

"What is that? A tattoo?" Lucy asked.

"No, not quite. Well, in a sense, it is. You see, the five of us; the five gods, that is; each have a symbol. That's because we were chosen to be the vessels of primordial gods. You've fought Dimaria, right?"

"Y-Yeah…." Wendy muttered.

"Well, we're all like that. We all have that power: Sky, Earth, Darkness, Light, and Night. So long." She walked through her portal and disappeared from their sight.

"Where do we go from here?" Natsu asked.

"Half of us should do research in the library here, and half of us should go to the Heartfilia mansion. There's probably something there too. If Layla has kept this many secrets from us, then there's nothing that says there's not more hidden there." Laxus said.

"Alright. Let's begin then. We're to investigate these Five Mages she mentioned." Makarov ordered.

 **End.**


	5. The One She Loves

**Songs**

 **Layla's First Song: The Very Thought of You (Ella Fitzgerald)**

"You're here? Why? I thought you were busy at Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah, we were, but we didn't spend that long there. We simply regrouped and left. Although I sensed that you visited after we left. What did everyone think? What about Lucy?"

"She took it better than I thought she would. I mean, she seemed a bit in shock, but she still was well enough to ask questions, so I guess it ended okay."

"I see. Although, given some time, they'll not hesitate to attack us."

"I know. But I live more in the here and now. Are you ready?"

"Of course."

Layla and Zeref were dressed up and about to sing at their club down the street from the palace.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our Emperor and his Empress!" the conductor introduced. Everyone cheered. "First we're going to hear Lady Layla sing on her own! 'This is The Very Thought of You'!" The band started playing.

 **Layla Singing:**

 _The Very Thought of You_

 _And I forget to do_

 _The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do_

 _I'm living a kind of daydream_

 _I'm happy as a king_

 _And foolish though it may seem to me, that's everything_

 _The mere idea of you_

 _The longing here for you_

 _You'll never know how slow the moments go 'til I'm near to you!_

 _I see your face in every flower_

 _Your eyes in stars above_

 _It's just the thought of you, the very thought of you_

 _My love!_

The band continued playing for the bridge.

 _The mere idea of you_

 _The longing here for you_

 _You'll never know how slow the moments go 'til I'm near to you!_

 _I see your face in every flower_

 _Your eyes in stars above!_

 _It's just the thought of you, the very thought of you_

 _My love…_

Everyone cheered. The two of them were the top performers in the whole empire. And it wasn't because they had to, either. Being leaders had nothing to do with it, both of them were extremely benevolent and considerate to their people. But their performances were incredible. It was only the first act, and already everyone was taken.

 **X**

Mystogan, Lucy, Natsu, and Gildarts went to the Heartfilia mansion.

"Did your mom have her own library here?" Natsu asked Lucy.

"I don't think so….There's probably either something in my father's study, or in their bedroom."

"Mystogan and I will go look in your father's study. Natsu, you and Lucy go check in the bedroom.

"Okay. Let's go Natsu." The two walked upstairs and into the bedroom.

"There must be something…." Lucy opened the closet and found some old clothes that belonged to her parents. She moved them out of the way to find a small box. She opened it and found a key.

"Natsu, there's a key here. Is there a lock anywhere?"

"There's one on this dresser." Lucy walked over and put the key in, then unlocked it. She opened the drawer to the dresser. There was nothing in there but a scrap of paper. She took it out, and read it.

"What does it say, Luce?"

"All it says is 'The Wall'...What does that mean?"

"It means what it says." Natsu looked at the different walls of the bedroom. One was where they came in, where the door was. Another was behind the bed, and looked pretty normal. The third one had another door that went into a bathroom. The last one, next to the wardrobe, was blank. It seemed as if something should be there, but there wasn't anything. Natsu walked up to it and examined it closely.

"Huh? Hey Lucy, there's an indent here." He pressed it, and a square of the wall pushed in, causing the rest of it to slide down.

"A secret room?" she asked. They peered in. There was a window, and a staircase leading up to an attic. They walked up, and found a single door at the top. Lucy turned the knob, and it led them into a private study, much smaller than Jude's, but much more organized.

"I guess the debt collectors didn't know about this room, or my father never told them…" Lucy muttered. "Or maybe even he didn't know…"

The room was small, but cozy. There was a single bookshelf, completely filled. Opposite was a desk and chair. And over in the corner, by a single window, was an small alchemy station.

"Lucy, look at these." She walked over and looked at the books on the shelf.

"God Slayer Magic, Dragon Slayer Magic, The Black Arts, Devil Slayers, Demons….." she whispered.

"It looks like your mom was quite the scholar." Natsu continued flipping through the books while Lucy examined the desk. She looked through each of the drawers. They were all empty, except for one thin drawer in the middle, that was locked. Lucy tried putting the key in again. It turned and unlocked. Lucy opened it, and found a single envelope in there, with her name on the front.

"Me…?"

"What does it say?" She opened it and pulled out a letter. The ink was worn, the letter must have been written years ago.

" _Dear Lucy,_

 _Well...to be honest, I'm not sure how to start this letter. If you're reading this, then you either stumbled upon this room by accident, or learned the truth about me, and found this room purposely. I pray it's the latter, as I'd rather spare you the despair of learning about my faked death before you need to._

 _As I'm writing this letter, it's still the year X777, perhaps 2 weeks after my funeral. By now, Jude and I have officially divorced, and I am free to be with my one true love, Zeref Dragneel, for the rest of my life. I'm afraid that I can't disclose the entire truth to you now. I also didn't keep anything around like a diary that talks about my time spent with him. If you want to know about that, you'll have to ask me directly. But I will leave you with one clue: there was another reason why I had to go with Zeref, another reason why he sought me out specifically. Search a bit in Fairy Tail's library. There's a book in there that one of my comrades left._

 _Lucy, we both know that I can't leave Alvarez. There are things I have to do here. But no matter what happens, even if you end up fighting me, even if you end up having to end my life, or the other way around….I will always love you, my dear daughter._

 _Your mother,_

 _Layla Heartfilia._

"...Wh-What…..? Zeref Dragneel….? You're related to him?" Lucy asked Natsu, beginning to tear up.

"...Yes, or at least he claims we are. Don't tell anyone, but he said that he's my older brother."

"Natsu, my mother is in love with him….That means that she's one of the leaders of the empire, overseeing this invasion….." she sobbed, grabbing him and crying into his shoulder. Natsu escorted her back down to where Mystogan and Gildarts were.

"Did you guys find anything?" Natsu asked.

"No. All of this stuff belonged to Jude. What about you?" Gildarts asked.

"A letter, but that's it. She told us where to go next, though."

"And where's that?"

"Back to the guild, in the library."

"Alright then. I suppose we won't find anything else here. Let's get going."

 **X**

"Natsu and the others are back!" Gray told everyone. They all looked up and saw them.

"Come over here, we found a book!" Levy said. They walked over.

"Where's Lucy?" Makarov asked.

"She went back to her apartment for a short time. She said she wanted to be alone for a little while. Where's Laxus and Mira?" he asked, after noticing the two of them were gone.

"They left too. I think she's still in shock from what happened, and wanted to go back home. But she refused to do so unless Laxus went with her." Lisanna said.

"Oh….Well, what did you find?"

"Nothing written specifically by them, but it has to do with them. Layla said that each of the five mages had a symbol on their body that had a connection with a god. This book is about some of the history of Greek Mythology, and also information about specific deities." Levy said. Natsu, Mystogan, and Gildarts walked over and sat across from her. Levy cleared her throat.

"According to this book, there was nothing in the beginning. Simply Chaos, an empty void. But one day, the chaos disappeared, and in its place were the first two primordial deities: Erebus, the God of Darkness and Shadow, and Nyx, the Goddess of the Night. From the two of them came Aether, the God of Light, and Hemera, the Goddess of the Day. From the remaining Chaos, Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, Eros, the God of Love, and Tartarus, the lowest and blackest area of the Underworld. From Gaia came Uranus, the God of the Skies and Heavens. Uranus and Gaia had many descendants: 12 Titans, 3 Cyclopes, 3 Hundred Handed Beings, Giants, Furies, Nymphs, and Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love."

"I know what happens after this." Erza said. "When Gaia and Uranus had children, he hated them. He imprisoned their youngest children in Tartarus, deep under the earth, where they caused Gaia pain. Gaia, as a revenge plan, created a giant sickle and asked her sons to castrate Uranus. Only the youngest Titan, Cronus, was willing to do so. He ambushed his father and completed the task, tossing the severed testicles into the sea."

"Ouch." Gildarts winced.

"Cronus and his sister Rhea took the throne as King and Queen, and ruled over a Golden Age. However, Gaia and Uranus told him that he was destined to be overcome by his sons, just as Cronus had overcome his own father. Cronus soon after fathered 5 children: Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture, Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, Hera, Goddess of Marriage, Hades, God of the Dead, and Poseidon, God of the Sea. Upon birth, Cronus devoured all of his children to prevent the prophecy from coming true. Rhea sought out Gaia for retribution on Cronus for the acts that he committed against his family. Rhea gave birth to her sixth child, a son, Zeus, God of the Sky and Lightning in secret. She handed Cronus a stone wrapped in cloth, making him think that it was his final child. He quickly ingested it. When Zeus was old enough, he faced his father and cut his stomach open, freeing his siblings. He then had the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed ones build his thunderbolts, Poseidon's Trident, and Hades' Helmet of Darkness. They then overthrew the Titans and Zeus became King of the Gods, marrying his sister Hera."

"Right." Levy confirmed. "After all this happened, no one dared to cross Zeus and the other ruling gods, and it's been that way ever since. But, that's not to say the Primordial Gods don't intervene now and then."

"Meaning?" Mystogan asked.

"Meaning that every now and then, they give some of their power to newborn mages who have incredible potential. Like those five."

"Layla, for example, has the triple goddess symbol on her shoulder." Gildarts stated, pointing to the symbol in the book. "That means that she was chosen by Nyx, the most powerful Primordial Goddess."

"And the others?" Gray asked.

"Didn't Layla say their powers when she left?" Levy asked. "I think she said: Sky, Earth, Darkness, Light, and Night. Which means that the other gods would be...Uranus, Gaia, Erebus, and Aether. But we don't know which ones belong to which mages…Do you?" she asked Gildarts.

"No. Other than Layla, I don't know which is which."

"We'll just have to find out for ourselves, I guess." Natsu said. Suddenly, they all started glowing.

"Huh?! What's happening?!" And just like that, the entire guild disappeared into thin air.

 **X**

"Ahh, it's good to be back." Layla said, sitting at the bar in the guild. The rest of the Spriggan 12 were standing around the hall, while Mavis was restrained by Invel, standing near Zeref. The dead members were revived thanks to Neinhart. And the empire's main force had overtaken the city.

"How did you this?" Mavis groaned. "We were all here again before you sent us all away and all of you came back."

"That was Eileen's doing. Remember, she uses World Reconstruction Magic, and can manipulate where people and objects are. Mavis...Please follow me." Zeref walked outside the guild, and stood at the top of the cliff where Fairy Tail now resided. Mavis reluctantly followed and looked down.

"Behold." She couldn't believe what she saw. There were hundreds of thousands of soldiers occupying the whole area. The Spriggan 12 were stationed around the cliff at various different locations.

"Your comrades are currently making their way here, in order to take back you and the guild. I do wonder, will they be able to break through our defenses? I cannot wait to find out." Zeref told her.

"Not a chance in hell! Not as long as Ajeel the Great is here, standing in their way!" Ajeel yelled, standing near Mavis, Zeref, and Invel.

"That so, big shot? I seem to recall you losing quite pathetically." Jacob told him.

"Look who's talking, asshole! That fluke ain't gonna happen again."

"Naturally."

"Randi…" Dimaria looked at Brandish.

"Mari…"

"I had heard you were captured. They didn't do anything horrible to you, did they?"

"No…" She grabbed Brandish and hugged her.

"I won't say any of those awful and cruel things to you ever again! I'm gonna pay those fiends back tenfold for laying their hands on you…" Brandish didn't say anything.

"Friendship is one of the world's greatest beauties, wouldn't you say?" Rahkeid asked August. The old mage simply looked at him angrily.

"Lord August is quite fond of giving me dirty looks." he told Invel.

"Can you blame him? You always fail to attend our meetings, so it shouldn't come as some big shock." the Chief of Staff told him.

'That is the mage called the strongest of them all...August. Not to mention...That person's magic...What on Earthland...Just what nature of magic is that?!'

"Rahkeid is my proverbial secret weapon, you see. He has the potential to defeat even Acnologia, given his vast capabilities." Zeref told Mavis.

Neinhart sighed. "Conjuring two Spriggan 12 members' worth of historias certainly takes its toll on me, I must admit."

"I see...So I hath returned from the depths of the underworld." Bradman said.

"Well, well, would ya' look at this...The 12 have finally all gathered together...Hahahaha!" Wahl Icht said happily.

"What about you? I thought you were dead too?" Neinhart asked Yury, who was sitting over at the bar with Layla and Silver.

"From Acnologia? Of course not. That was a clone I had out there." Neinhart simply nodded and left it at that. He turned back to the other two.

"I'd like to remind you two that you're already long dead. I'd advise you to protect me diligently, lest you disappear from the living realm permanently…"

"One million soldiers...the twelve all reunited...truly a magnificent sight to behold!"

"Eileen." Zeref acknowledged her.

'What...This obscene magic power…' Mavis could barely stand.

"As for the matter of your activation of Universe One, I won't pry. In fact, you've done well. You have my praise."

"Oh my...and here I was prepared for at least a light spanking, or something along those lines. I'm a little disappointed." she said playfully.

"You forget that he only does that with me." Layla said, turning towards the two of them, smiling at Eileen. Mavis blushed, and Eileen and Zeref laughed.

"What I would have you do for me now is an isolation enchantment." he told Eileen.

"Your wish is my command. So I simply have to remove Fairy Heart from inside that cute little girl, is that right?"

'What…? She cannot possibly do such a…'

"As luck would have it, Eileen is prodigious when it comes to attaching and removing magic from objects."

'No way…'

"This will likely take some time, but yes, you can leave the task in my capable hands."

'This cannot be…!'

"I have now assembled a perfect, impenetrable battle formation. Do you still dare to come here, Fairy Tail? I shall not let you see tomorrow." Zeref smirked.

 **X**

" _Mom? Hey mom, where are you?" Lucy asked, looking around her old home._

" _Dad? Are you here?" She looked around his study, but he wasn't there either._

" _Where are they?" She continued looking around outside, at the gardens. Finally, her father was in sight, standing near her mother's empty grave._

" _Dad!" Lucy ran towards him. He didn't respond._

" _Dad, what are you doing out here?" She asked, noticing that he had a suitcase next to him._

" _I'm leaving."_

" _Leaving? For what?"_

" _There's no reason for me to be here anymore."_

" _S-Sure there is! You own this place!"_

" _No, I don't. Not anymore. The company went bankrupt a long time ago, what with your mother leaving and taking her immense fortune with her. And now that we're divorced and she's in love with Zeref, I'm just not needed here."_

" _I-In love with Zeref?! That letter said the same thing...Is it really true?"_

" _Of course, she's been with him for over 15 years now."_

" _What?! That's impossible!"_

" _It's not Lucy. If you want to see her, she's inside. Goodbye." He vanished into thin air. Lucy ran back into the house, up the stairs, and into the master bedroom._

" _Mom?!" Lucy cried out._

" _Lucy? What are you doing here?" Lucy turned around to see her mom come out of the bathroom, with nothing but a towel wrapped around her._

" _I was looking for you!"_

" _I just got out of the shower." Layla said, running her hands through her long golden hair._

" _What are you doing here though? I thought you left this place years ago!"_

" _Oh, I stop by from time to time. What are you doing here though?"_

" _I...I don't know, actually…"_

" _Well, Lucy, I have something important to do shortly, and it's private, so if you could leave for a bit and either stay downstairs or go into town, I'd appreciate it."_

" _Oh...I see." She started walking back downstairs before she saw Zeref at the bottom, walking up._

" _Zeref?"_

" _Oh, Lucy. What are you doing here?"_

" _Me?! This is where I used to live! What about you?!"_

" _I'm here to see your mother." He walked past her and stood next to Layla._

" _S-See her? So you both really are…?" she almost whispered now._

" _You see, Lucy, Zeref can't be in love with anyone but me. You know how it worked out with Mavis. But I'm different. We both know Ankhseram Black Magic, so his curse doesn't affect me."_

" _Your mother is special." Zeref smirked. The two leaned in and started kissing. Tears ran down Lucy's face. They moved into the bedroom and she followed them. Zeref's robe was already off, and Layla was about to remove her towel._

" _NOOOOOOOO!"_

"AHHH!" Lucy screamed, waking up from her dream.

"Lucy, what's wrong?!" Natsu asked. She looked around quickly, noticing that she was not in her apartment, she was on a cliff overlooking the city.

"N-Natsu? I-It's nothing, just a bad dream…."

"Are you sure you're okay? We're about to attack."

"Y-Yeah. I'll be fine." She looked down at the army.

"Are these all….our enemies?!"

"I can see our home over there, but…"

"We just gotta do this." Gray said.

"Juvia is ready."

"Me too." Happy chimed in.

"Rushing headlong without a plan into this many enemies would be foolhardy. Having said that…Yeah! I know everyone will come with me! And nothing could be more reassuring! Until the rest of them get here, we'll push back their front line. Every step counts. Every step is a step back towards our guild."

"The first is surely waiting for us back at the guild."

"Zeref's probably with her."

"Which of us will take down Zeref first! You in, Natsu?"

"Hell yeah! I'm getting all fired up!" His stomach growled.

"Uh…"

"As always, your timing is impeccable…"

" _If you kill me, Natsu will die as well."_

'There's gotta be a way! I'm not gonna let Natsu die! Never!'

"Let's do this! Back to our guild!"

"YEAH!"

"Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!" Natsu began blasting through the soldiers.

"Tauros!"

"Moo!"

"Tension Max! Lucy Kick!"

"Water Slicer!"

"Freeze Lancer!"

"Requip...Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt!"

"These guys...Did they willingly attack us head-on?!"

"They're freaking insane!"

"We can overwhelm them with our sheer numbers! Stand your ground! Attack!"

"Sorry about our late arrival!"

"Wendy! Carla!"

"Sky Dragon's Roar!"

"Beast Soul Ape!"

"Fairy Tail...We'll land a hand!" Yukino shouted.

"Count me in." Sorano added.

"Elfman…"

"Even Yukino…"

"And Angel…"

"Push them back!"

"Gramps! Cana! Everyone!" All of a sudden, the army burst apart as eight dragons soared into the sky.

"What in the…"

"Dragons?!"

Yury jumped down and faced off against them. Or rather, a clone of him did.

"You shan't take one step further. God Serena! A God has descended! Purgatory Dragon's Blazing Hell!"

"Flame Dragon Slayer Magic?!" Carla cried out.

"It's time to grub!" Natsu yelled happily, beginning to eat the flames.

"Oh? Then how about...Sea King Dragon's Water Formation Envelopment!" He shot water off of his other hand.

"Buah!" Natsu got caught in the wave.

"Flame and Water...at the same time?!" Lucy yelled.

"This water...what magical power! And the flames are mixed in with it…" Juvia tried to protect herself from the spell.

"Storm Dragon's…"

"He can still use more?!" Elman shouted.

"Who cares?! Just scarf it all down, Natsu!"

"Come on man! Be reasonable!"

"So this is the power of the greatest mage in Ishgar…"

"Song of the Wind and Moon!" The clone blasted a huge beam of electricity into the crowd.

"Storm Dragon? What happened to Voltaic?" Silver asked him.

"I had Layla swap out my last four lacrima for different ones back at the palace." Yury said, sipping his drink.

"Hm? Wait a minute...the spell didn't work…"

Back down at the scene of the fight, the spell had been negated.

"Now what?!" Natsu yelled, shielding himself.

"Oh? Have we been saved?!" Macao asked.

"What just happened...My magic just...vanished. No...it was broken!"

"Yo."

"Gildarts!"

"You took long enough." Cana scolded him.

"I'm hungry as hell...so step aside boy...I'm going back to the guild." Gildarts told the clone.

 **End.**


	6. Queen of Hell

**On the Fairy Tail Wiki, Anna is listed only as Layla's ancestor, not Jude's. So I think that Heartfilia is actually Layla's maiden name as well as her married one, and perhaps Jude just took her last name as his own. That's what I'm going to do. Also, Mystogan didn't come into Earthland until X777, specifically July 7th. That would mean that he was too young to be around when Layla was in the guild, but let's assume he was there once, went back while Layla was off training with Yury, and then came back when she was preparing to leave. Enjoy! Layla's backstory in this chapter.**

 **Songs**

 **Yury Appears: Momoshiki and Kinshiki (Boruto: Naruto the Movie OST)**

 **Yury vs. Gildarts: Chain Explosion (Naruto: The Last OST)**

 **Mystogan vs. Layla: Mystogan's Theme (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **True Heavenly Body Magic Meteor: Kakuzu (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Satan Soul Lucifer: Prophet (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Layla's Childhood: Ashura and Indra (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Isabella Explaining Reincarnations: Kaguya Otsutsuki's Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Layla Meets Silver: Beginning of Peace (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

"Uggghhhh, how long is this going to take?!" Layla moaned.

"A long time. You're the strongest of us, you're meant to fight them last." Silver replied, cleaning the drinking mugs and passing out more drinks to the other Spriggan 12.

"But you could have just sent me to take care of everything at the start."

"What, and let you activate either Satan or God Soul? Our entire army would have been caught up in the battle and obliterated." August told her.

She spun around on her bar stool, trying to kill time.

"You're such a child." Eileen giggled.

"Does a child get to have sex with the most powerful dark mage in history?" she asked mockingly. Eileen frowned.

"I thought so." she smirked.

 **X**

"Gildarts!"

"Gildarts finally returned!"

"Alright!"

"Wow~!"

"So he finally came back! That old geezer is as reliable as ever, eh?"

"You can say that again."

"Ooh...Gildarts!"

"What sketchy back alleys were you lurking around this whole time, you shit-for-brains dad?" Cana mocked.

"Cana...Cana, you're so friggin' adorable~!" he cried, tackling her in a hug.

"Hey, give it a rest already! Don't forget there's an enemy staring you right in the face!"

"Oh! Come to think of it, you're right. Thing is, I can't sense the magic power of a living human within this little punk here…"

"Hm?"

"I can tell he was a formidable mage, for sure. If he were real, he'd be a force to be reckoned with, but...The way he is now, he's nothing but a small-fry. I know you're a clone, you're clearly not the real one."

"Haha! Blathering like a mindless idiot is common...When faced with the might of God Serena of the Eight Dragons!" The two stomped on the ground before clashing, unleashing a huge explosion of magic power.

"Waah!" Wendy screamed.

"What's with this magic power?! It's obscene!" Carla yelled.

"Are you alright, Romeo?" Wendy asked.

"I...I'm not, Wendy...not even close...I charged in so passionately at the start of the battle, but...This is just too much...The sheer number of enemies staring us down...It's terrifying! I'm beyond pathetic...My legs...They've been trembling from the beginning…"

"I'm certain that deep down, everyone else is scared as well! We just need to rely on one another and give it our all!" she encouraged.

Sand started blowing around some of the other members.

"What the?!"

"A sandstorm?! I can't see a thing!"

"Dry out and wither to your deaths!" Ajeel yelled maniacally.

"No this douche again…" Gray muttered.

"Magnolia's been enveloped in a sandstorm…" Erza coughed.

"I'll make a manly path for everyone!" Elfman jumped ahead. "Just leave this guy to me! A little sand won't leave a scratch on a sand beast!"

"Antlion Pit!" Sand swirled around Elfman, trapping him in a quicksand whirlpool.

"You could stand to lose a few pounds, Elf!" Lisanna said, carrying him out in her harpy form.

"Lisanna! You're a sight for sore eyes!"

"My, my...They're quite the meddlesome bunch when they're all together…" Jacob said, putting one of his gloves on.

"I'll be your opponent! Let's do this!" Mira said, punching him straight across the face. Jacob turned around quickly but noticed that nearly all of Mira's clothes were in rags from her fight with Eileen and the two girls.

"H...How utterly vulgar!" he yelled, looking away.

"Oops!" She covered herself, embarrassed.

"Ahahahah! Now that's what I'm talking' about!" Wahl yelled.

"I shalt deliver them all to the depths of the underworld." Bradman said darkly.

"! A shadow?!" The reaper was suddenly torn apart by Rogue.

"Come if you dare! I'll blow you all to bits!" Wahl blasted rockets everywhere. They exploded, but their blast radius was warped.

"It seems a rather noisy fly has made its way into my territory." Minerva and Rogue faced off against the cyborg.

"Rogue! Lady Minerva!" Yukino said happily.

"Rogue~!"

"Huh? I don't see Sting…" Lector said, disappointed.

"It seems we were separated when that light appeared in the sky."

"Makes sense…"

"This is Sting we're talking about. There's no cause for concern."

"But how did the two of you find your way here?"

"As it so happens, this young lass showed the way." Minerva pointed to Kinana.

"Things are finally starting to pick up around here!" Wahl yelled.

"A shadow...is it?" Bradman asked, reformed.

"Madam...Their magic power…" Rogue told Minerva.

"Indeed. It seems we are dealing with the walking dead. There should be a puppet master controlling them somewhere in the vicinity. Yukino, can I leave them to you?"

"Understood!"

"Everyone's fighting with all they've got! All to make it back to our guild! Come and get some!" Natsu screamed.

"You shall never make it through us! We won't allow you to reach his majesty!" the soldiers retaliated.

"My magic is...being broken apart…"

"It's a real shame...I always wanted to see which one of us would be the last man standing, while you were at your full power. I guess I'll just have to wait until I fight the real you. Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth...Empyrean!" Gildarts blasted a huge shockwave that destroyed the God Serena clone.

"Let's pick up the pace people...The guild's just a hop, skip, and a jump away!"

"Forwaaaaard!" they all yelled.

Invel watched them from atop the cliff.

"Well, I suppose it's my turn." Yury walked out and stood next to him.

"Already?"

"Gildarts wants to fight the real me? Then so be it." He jumped down and stood in front of everyone, blocking the path.

"Get the hell out of our way!" Natsu yelled, rushing towards him.

"That my line." Yury said simply, catching Natsu's punch and tossing him to the side.

"Well look who it is." Gildarts smirked.

"I'm only down here because you asked for me. After all, fighting a clone doesn't satisfy your thirst for battle nearly enough, does it?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're never going to make it past me. You die here. Light Dragon's Bursting Ray!" His irises turned red and his eyes black, before blowing a huge beam of light from his mouth that ravaged the land. Everyone dodged.

"You guys go on ahead! I'll take care of him!" Gildarts ordered.

"Are you sure?!" Mira yelled back.

"Trust me." They all ran ahead.

"Such a stupid move. If I use ranged attacks like my dragon slayer magics, you'll just negate them like before. I guess I'll have to get serious." He clapped his hands.

'! No, he's-!"

"Fairy Law!" Yury got punched away by Gildarts before he could activate the spell. But then he faded away.

"Another clone?!" The real one appeared behind him.

"Fairy Glitter!"

"Another one!" He punched the ground, creating an earthquake that Yury jumped up and dodged. Gildarts punched the air, sending a shockwave towards him.

"Fairy Sphere!" This time, his spell was successful, and he blocked Gildarts' attack before landing back on the ground.

"I grow tired of these games you play. You're not at my level. Light God's Blade." He held out his hand before a long broadsword made of light particles materialized.

'What…?'

"Begone. Light God's Brilliant Slash!" He sliced the sword towards Gildarts' head. He ducked and avoided the attack, but a shockwave followed the motion and hit the cliff.

'What is this...I thought his only powers were the Eight Dragon Lacrima and his God Soul, but he's used all of the Great Fairy Magics, and now he's using…'

"Light God's Bellow!" Yury blasted a white beam towards Gildarts, which damaged him heavily and destroyed his clothes somewhat.

"How?! How do you know all of these abilities?!"

"I'm stronger than you, that's all there is to it. The only magic I was taught was Lightning Magic. The rest of this I learned on my own, because I wanted to. You wanted me to unleash my God Soul against you? Ha! You're not worthy of that power. Light God's Apollo!" Gildarts was surrounded in a column of light, and then obliterated. When the light disappeared, no one was there.

"Not even a body...he's smarter than I give him credit for...he used a clone to measure my power...No matter. By now, he knows that there's no chance of them defeating me or Layla." Yury's body dispersed into light particles before reappearing in the main hall of Fairy Tail, sitting at the bar with Silver and Layla.

"Well?" she asked.

"He's gotten somewhat stronger since you last fought him, but not by much. He doesn't stand a chance."

 **X**

"Well?" Mira asked him, running with everyone else.

"It's no use. There's no way in hell I can fight someone like him, unless I had help. I'd be crushed in a one-on-one fight."

"He's that powerful?" Gray asked.

"He's a master of Lightning Magic, has eight different Dragon Slayer Magics, knows all three Great Fairy Magics, is the God Slayer of Light, and can use a God Soul Takeover. Answer your question?" Everyone was silent.

"We'll find a way, you know we will. But for right now, focus on the enemies in front of us!"

 **X**

"Uuuu…." Mavis groaned. Her body and mind were getting weaker.

"Poor thing. To think, having it stolen from right under your nose...Your ever-so precious imaginative ability…" Eileen continued to drain Fairy Heart from Mavis' body. "Invel's Ice Sleep causes one to lose their very sense of self. If I were feeling poetic, I would liken it encasing one's heart itself in ice." Mavis glanced over at Zeref, who didn't have an ounce of sympathy for her.

Will the separation enchantment take much longer?"

"I believe you are aware of just how special the magic in her body really is." Mavis struggled more.

"I have no desire to watch her suffer."

"Oh? It is not often my majesty wears his emotions on his sleeve. But, rude as it may be, I fear I must speak my mind here. If you do not rid yourself of that naivete, you will never defeat Acnologia. He is the Apotheosis of Darkness itself. Truly, the Lord of all Dragons."

"Indeed...your logic is sound. I shall be taking my leave now." They looked behind them to see Neinhart walking towards them.

"Lady Eileen…"

"Neinhart, can this wait? As you can see, I am more than a bit occupied."

"I have located Lady Erza."

"...So...she lives, after all."

"What shall we do? She is currently engaged in combat, but as you well know, she…"

"Kill her."

"What?"

"Do not make me repeat myself."

"Yes, but...my Historia has no effect on Lady Erza, and…"

"Then you must fight her yourself. Remember who you are…"

"I...I am…"

 **X**

Erza and Gildarts continued blasting through the soldiers, while Elfman and Lisanna fought Ajeel, Mira fought Jacob, Rogue fought Bradman, and Minerva fought Wahl.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu tried to injure the soldiers, but his breath froze as soon as he fired it.

"Wha-?! That was dirty Gray!"

"It wasn't me! Come to think it, this cold…"

"It's freezing!" Lucy complained.

"Serves you right for not wearing anything….brrrrrrr…." Juvia mocked.

"My body's...stiffening….."

"...Burn!" Natsu created a giant wall of flame that burned through the ice, but froze again just as quickly.

"Wh...No way…" Invel walked towards everyone and stood in front of everyone. They were all frozen solid at this point, save for Gray.

"Natsu! Lucy! Juvia! Happy!"

"Oh? You seem to be immune to this cold. Fascinating."

"So it's you…" Gray began to cast a spell but was tossed into the side of a building by Invel's magic before he could finish it.

He continued assaulting Gray with a barrage of ice magic.

"You may address me as Yura Invel. I am he who brings Winter's Wrath to all. Your paltry chill is naught before my winter."

'Me, of all people...He's actually making me shiver from the cold...My body is...freezing solid…'

'Please...Someone, anyone...defeat Invel!' Mavis thought, losing her consciousness.

"Mavis!" Her eyes widened, glancing towards the entrance of the guild. It was not who she was expecting.

"We have a visitor." Silver smiled, looking over at the entrance.

"Mystogan." Layla smiled. Mystogan quickly unclipped one of his staves and fired a beam of purple energy from it towards Eileen. However, it didn't hit her, and instead hit a magic barrier.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that this barrier will stay here for as long as I live." Eileen said.

"I'm sorry Mavis. But Gray is fighting Invel now, so I know that you'll be free soon." Mavis smiled.

"Layla." Mystogan pointed at her.

"Mm?" she asked, holding her head in her hands.

I'm here to defeat you."

"Are you now?" she smirked. "That's a good one."

"You don't think I can do it?"

"No, I don't. But if you'd like to try, why don't you show me what you've got instead of standing around talking about it."

"Fine. Meteor."

"Wha-?!" Mystogan became surrounded in a powerful purple aura before speeding through the hall, grabbing Layla and flying out of it.

'His magic power rivals Gildarts'!' Mystogan threw her towards the ground, landing nearby. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"I see...You used Edolas' secret pills."

"Yeah, in preparation for fighting you."

"Pills that only work for citizens of Edolas. They allow the user to temporarily acquire magic power within themselves and take on the abilities of their Earthland counterpart."

"That's right. Just like you and Jellal, I can use Heavenly Body Magic too."

"But can you use it to the extent that we can?" A light purple magic aura surrounded Mystogan, while a dark purple aura surrounded Layla.

"Meteor!" They yelled at the same time. They sped up and down the mountainsides and continuously clashed as they passed each other. From someone else's perspective, it would simply look like flashes of yellow and purple flying around.

"Altairis!" Mystogan cast, creating a black hole that he sent towards Layla.

"Grand Chariot!" she placed her hands on top of each other, creating seven magic circles, and sending the ensuing energy beams into the hole, negating it.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!" Mystogan dropped a meteor down from the sky towards Layla. She smirked.

"Death Predation." A black sphere surrounded her and expanded, disintegrating it. She looked back at Mystogan, but he wasn't there.

'He's fast.' She narrowed his eyes. Before she could react, Mystogan appeared behind her and kicked her in the back, sending her the opposite way. She recovered rather quickly though.

"Ow, dammit. My back…" she stretched and rubbed where she was kicked.

"What's wrong? You're not getting rusty now that you're older, are you?" Mystogan grinned.

"Oh, shut up. I'm only 44. But I think it's time we stop the warm-up, wouldn't you say so?" she asked, licking her lips.

"True Heavenly Body Magic….METEOR!" they both shouted. At this point, their speed became only a blur, and all that was left behind was a trail of light in their colors. They were moving so fast that a vortex of magic power was created. Layla went around in a circular motion before going up into the sky, transferring all of her strength to her foot, and plummeted down towards Mystogan. He dodged it, and Layla's foot crashed into the ground, creating a giant crater.

"You're not fast enough!" he yelled, flipping down and kicking Layla's head down, knocking her to the ground.

"You're not quite as strong as you thought you were, huh?"

"Oh, really?" she asked, standing behind him.

"Wha-?!" She kicked him in the side, sending him flying to the left, hitting a tree. He gritted his teeth and looked at the body in the crater. It dispersed into light particles.

"A clone, huh…?" He stumbled onto his feet. Layla sighed and examined her nails, looking bored.

"Do you...really take me that lightly?"

"Come now, Mystogan. You're the one who knows about my abilities more than anyone else. You should know that I'm not using anything remotely near my full power, right now. I'll give you some credit, though. You've mastered Heavenly Body Magic more than Jellal has, and in such a short time. Although I have a feeling that's because you've watched me so many times before. Am I wrong?"

"...You are. True Heavenly Body Magic: Grand Chariot!" Layla's eyes widened in bewilderment before she swung her head up into the sky.

"21 Magic Seals-"

"Fall." Mystogan jumped back while placing his palms on each other.

'Too fast…!' Continuous powerful rays of light rained down on Layla and devastated the area. Mystogan fell to his knees panting.

"That used up more magic power than I wanted it to…I hope that actually did something…"

"Ha…"

"Damn it…." he fell onto his hands, looking over where she was.

"Ha ha...Hahaha….Damn kid, that was some pretty strong shit…" she fell onto her hands as well. Most of her clothes had been torn up, burned, and slashed. Her cape was disintegrated, her high heels were gone, her hairband was gone so her hair was hanging down long, and her gown was only covering her breasts and genitals.

"I really...can't waste any more time with you though...I might actually die otherwise…" she gasped.

"Satan Soul: Lucifer." Layla's appearance changed. Her hair stood up and became more wild, and she had a thin layer of battle armor that covered her. Her nails became longer, her eyes became red, and a small scar went over her right eye.

"I guess this is all the power I have left in me...I can't manifest all of the clothes." Layla examined herself. She walked towards Mystogan slowly.

'Her eyes...her expression is different. It's like she's turned into a killing machine...Where did she get this power…?'

She created a small red and black sphere of energy in her hand that expanded. She aimed it at Mystogan.

"...What are you….?" Mystogan asked, scared.

"...The Queen of Hell. Goodbye, Jellal." She fired the energy beam through his torso, making him cough up blood and collapse. Layla was trying to catch her breath, undoing her transformation.

"Hah...Hah….Zeref….."

"!" Zeref looked up suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Eileen asked.

"I have to go. I'll be back shortly." He went through a black portal and came out where Layla was. He ran over to her.

"What happened?!"

"Mystogan was stronger than I gave him credit for…Is there anyone at the palace right now? I need to change…" She showed herself to him. Her clothes were barely covering her anymore.

"No. You can go there."

"Come with me." She created a portal and they appeared in her room. Zeref closed and locked the doors, while Layla shed the rest of her clothing and tossing it into the garbage.

"What a shame. Black is my favorite color too." She went over to her closet and picked out some more clothes.

"Don't you have more than one set of black clothes though?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to save it, I don't want my other pair to be destroyed." She took out a green bra and green panties, a green gown, and a red cape with a golden lining. She took red heels out as well.

"Zeref…" she said seductively, walking up to him and pressing against him.

"Layla…" he warned.

"We're all alone here, you know…"

"Now's not the time. Fairy Tail is practically on our doorstep. And besides, look at you. Look at what Mystogan did to you."

"What, this? It's...nothing…" she winced at the pain. Zeref placed his hand on her stomach.

"Dark God's Healing." Her wounds began to heal.

"I could have just done it myself, you know."

"It's fine. Besides, you need to conserve and regain your strength for know. If there's someone I need to send on an assignment, I'll have either Silver or Yury do it."

"Oh, alright." She kissed him before putting on her undergarments, gown, cape, and shoes. She created a portal and they left, reappearing in Fairy Tail.

"There you are." Silver said. "What happened to you two?"

"I had a bit of a tough fight, that's all." She sat back down at the bar.

"...If you say so." Silver gave her a bottle of whiskey. She had a sip before staring at the bottle.

 _ **X756**_

" _Daddy, why do they all look at me like that?" An eight year old Layla asked her father. He held her hand and walked at a slightly faster place. They walked up to the gate that led to their property. Even as a young girl, Layla's parents were well off. They owned a nice sized mansion, and a decent amount of land, which they had a flower garden on. It was not as big as Layla's future home, but it was still a privilege for a young girl like her. They entered into the home. Layla's stunningly beautiful mother wore a pink lace gown and was cleaning the family portraits on the wall._

" _Mommy?" Layla sat down in one of the chairs._

" _Isabella."_

" _Yes, Henry?"_

" _I think it's time we told her."_

" _I understand." Henry sat at his desk while Isabella sat in a chair across from her daughter._

" _Layla, you've been studying your mythology like we wanted, right?"_

" _Yes. You had me learn about the 5 strongest primordial gods: Uranus, Gaia, Erebus, Aether, and Nyx."_

" _Good. Your mother will tell you everything."_

" _Layla, it's time that I started teaching you magic. You see, it's not often, but every few hundred years, the five gods choose five different infants, all born with a lot of magic power and a special affinity for their element. Do you remember the 5?"_

" _Uranus is Heaven, Gaia is Earth, Erebus is Darkness, Aether is Light, and Nyx is Night."_

" _A few other gods choose mages as well, but even less often than these five. Their rule is that they can only bestow their powers into new infants as soon as all five current ones pass away."_

" _And is that the case now?"_

" _Yes. Actually, it's been pretty spread out this time. Erebus chose his reincarnation 400 years ago, and they are still living today, as he is immortal. Aether chose his roughly 100 years ago. He is also still alive, as he attained immortality as well."_

" _What about the last three?"_

" _Uranus, Gaia, and Nyx's choices are roughly the same age and were only chosen less than 10 years ago. I don't know the names of two of them though…"_

" _...I'm one of them, aren't I?" she stood up and looked out the window._

" _...Nyx has chosen you as her current reincarnation. Layla, like me, you are a direct descendant of the most powerful goddess in history."_

" _The goddess of the night, huh…?" she looked at the palm of her hand._

" _Descendants of Nyx are said to be extremely beautiful and powerful at the same time."_

" _How do you know that any of this is true? Isn't mythology supposed to be exactly that? Myths?"_

" _Most people still think that, but the Heartfilia Clan is Nyx's bloodline, and as such, we know that they really exist. I have met her before, as did my mother Victoria." She pointed to Layla's grandmother, one of the portraits on the wall._

" _Nyx talked to you?"_

" _Yes. My mother was told that Nyx sensed an incredible power in a close future descendant, and that she would end up choosing them as their vessel. Therefore, she was given the responsibility of teaching me the proper magic to control this power, so that I could teach you."_

" _...So that's why. They're afraid of me." Layla looked at the young children playing down the street._

" _It's not that at all, sweetheart." her father reassured._

" _It's not you they fear, it's your powers. There is also a prophecy about these descendants. They are said to either bring great stability or great calamity to the world during their lifetimes. They want to make sure that you're able to control your gift, because if you can't, you could end up accidentally hurting them."_

" _...I want some time alone…." Layla walked out of the house calmly, but as soon as she was outside, she started running as fast as she could. After running for about 10 minutes, she sat down at a bench overlooking a small river with a bridge going over it. She was crying._

" _This responsibility….I don't want it….I want to be normal…." At that moment, a young boy with black hair came over and sat down next to her. She shifted away slightly._

" _No, don't go!" the boy pleaded. She stopped and remained where she was._

" _What are you doing out here? It's a little far from town, you know." the boy asked._

" _I know….But I needed to get away for a little while. My parents just told me about something that I don't entirely agree with."_

" _I see…" He took out a few pieces of candy and had one. He held his hand out to Layla._

" _Want one?" She looked at them for a few moments before taking one hesitantly. She put it in her mouth and enjoyed the flavor. Butterscotch._

" _Sweet, huh?" he grinned._

" _Yeah….Why are you being so nice to me? Most of the other townspeople don't want anything to do with me…"_

" _We're the same, you and I."_

" _Huh?" His statement caught her off guard._

" _I can sense it inside of you. We share the same kind of power. That thing your parents told you. Was it about the prophecy?"_

" _Y-Yeah! How do you-?!"_

" _I just said it, didn't I? We're one and the same. My parents gave me that same schpiel a few months ago. About being a descendant of a god, and controlling my power so I don't go on a rampage."_

" _The same...Then you're…?"_

" _I'm a descendant of Uranus. I'm like you, yes. What's your name?"_

" _Layla!" she said happily._

" _Silver. Nice to meet you."_

 **End.**


	7. Familial Ties

**I'm very excited about this chapter, as it will reveal a massive plot twist that changes the fate of this story. At the end, if you didn't realize what the plot twist was, I will summarize it. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Silver's Question: Saika (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

"I am the purest of Ice mages. I do not simply make toys out of ice. I use the very essence of ice itself to freeze all." Invel told Gray, after refreezing one of his strongest attacks and shattering it with no effort. "Your derivative flailings could never hold a candle to me. I will break them as easily as I would a child's playthings."

"Then how about this stuff? I inherited this power from my old man. The power to slay devils."

'Those marks are Silver's-!'

"A power for defeating END itself. Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword!"

"Wh- GUAH!" Invel was definitely damaged this time.

"Th...This power...Devil Slayer Magic?!"

'How can he have the same magic as Silver? He uses this power to mold ice weapons?! But...This power eats away at the soul. Those who hunt devils cannot retain their sanity. Although I suppose Layla is an exception...In any case, you have my attention.' He smiled.

Gray created another blast of ice that he swung at Invel. The Winter Mage simply blocked it one-handed this time though. Invel created a blizzard that swept through the whole landscape.

'It's cold! Cold enough to freeze! But…'

"You have what it takes to stand alongside me as a comrade."

"!"

"I fear you yourself are unaware of it, but...your heart is slowly being tainted by darkness."

"Eh? What are you blathering on about?"

"The powers of darkness are the seeds of black magic itself. Proof of the reality of the powers of the emperor himself."

"What the? So you're basically telling me you know that you're the bad guys?"

"Darkness is neither good nor evil. Darkness is a fearsome power that resides in the hearts of all. Your darkness is on the brink of releasing itself into the world."

"You're starting to make my ears bleed...I'm not trying to play Mr. Superhero over here either, you know. But if its my family on the line, I'll be as dark and black a villain as I need to in order to protect them!"

"Atta boy, Gray! A Fairy Tail mage through and through!" Natsu said, breaking out of the ice. The others broke out as well.

'He actually melted my ice...I see. This one called Natsu, he truly is…"

"The tables have turned mister! If we all gang up on y-KYAAAA!" Lucy was grabbed by a giant Brandish. She picked up Natsu and Happy with her other hand.

"Brandish!"

"I shall be taking these three."

"Wha-?! Natsu! Lucy! Happy!"

"What's the big idea?! Let go of me!" Natsu yelled.

"Brandish! Stop this! We…"

"Silence." She tightened her grip, making Lucy cry out.

"Hold it right there!"

"Gray-sama!" The two tried to stop Brandish.

Invel stopped them by creating a neck shackle on both Gray and Juvia, and iinked them with a chain.

"Juvia!"

"Gray-sama!"

"What the...my head...everything's going dark…"

"My body...won't do what I tell it…"

"Ice Lock. A magic that seals a person's heart and makes them my willing puppets. You two will now fight to the death. You have zero say in the matter."

"What'd you just say?!" Gray yelled angrily.

"This chain cannot be removed until one of you lies lifeless."

"There's no way this crap could ever...Guh...my head…"

'As I see it, the boy will come out victorious. The moment he kills his friend and ally, his darkness will fully awaken.'

"Juvia…"

"Gray…"

'The one meant to defeat END is not his majesty. It is you, Gray.'

'Not gonna happen! If it means harming a single hair on Gray-sama...Juvia would much rather take her own life...while she still has her wits about her!'

 **X**

"Things have taken an interesting turn now, haven't they?" a deep male voice said.

"What, about the boy? Why do you care about him, he's only your choice's son." This was the voice of a woman this time.

"That doesn't mean I can't take an interest in him. He is Silver's primary target. Aren't you interested in Erza? She's Eileen's primary target, after all."

"Well, I suppose a little…"

"There's nothing wrong with being interested in the mages of this world, Gaia. I myself take interest in Natsu as well as Zeref." a third, malefic sounding voice said.

"Who we watch doesn't matter at all. We've all essentially given our powers to one family each throughout history. Fullbuster, Belserion, Dragneel, Dreyar, and Heartfilia." This voice was from a somewhat brighter, but still stern male.

"Although you know that she is an exception. The Heartfilia's have more than one deity in their bloodline." A calm, radiant female voice said."

"Once, that happened. You've been behind that family since the beginning, Nyx. One person with a different god doesn't change the fate of that entire family." The brighter voice, who is Aether, told her.

"On the contrary. When the god is the first and most powerful, their fate does change." A sixth voice said. This one was calm and elegant, with an air of sophistication around it.

"Welcome back." Nyx looked at the sixth person who entered the room. They wore a black and purple gown, a black cape, had long blonde hair and purple heels.

"You four, leave us. I want to discuss something with Nyx in private." The other four gods obeyed and left the room. The room seemed to be part of a large throne room in a castle, connected to a long hallway with dark red carpet. The room itself was pretty big, but also comfortable. There was a large red semi-circle couch on the floor, where the five gods had just sat. There was a table in front of it. Past that was a staircase up to an elegant throne. The sixth figure walked up the steps and sat at the top.

"So? What's bothering you?"

"It's not that it bothers me, but I have a feeling about something."

"And? What's it about?"

"I don't think those five are going to go along with the task like we want."

"Which five? The chosen or the targets?"

"The targets. You've seen them. Being related to the chosen, they'll simply try to bring them back to their side rather than defeat them and pass my test."

"So what do you want to do about it?"

"We may have to take matters into our own hands."

"Heh. I see." Nyx stood up and turned towards the hallway.

"What do you think?"

"I think that's fine! It's not as if I have a choice, right? You are our master after all. When you do take action, try not to obliterate them so that nothing's left, Isabella."

"Need I remind you who I am? The personification of Chaos. I was chosen by the primordial void itself. My powers are limitless. I think I can handle not destroying them too quickly."

"As long as you're sure." Nyx said, leaving.

Isabella created two monitors, now watching both Gray and Juvia's situation on one, and the inside of Fairy Tail on the other.

"Now then. What will you do next, Layla? My dear daughter..." she smirked.

 **X**

"Now then, whenever you're ready...you may not rest until one of you lays dead."

'My consciousness is...fading…'

'No...I refuse to harm Gray-sama...anything but that! I could never bring myself to harm a single hair on his body, and yet…'

'It's no use…! I can't even think of any other thing!' The two created ice and water on their hands and blasted them at each other. They were blown back, but continued fighting against their wills. They continued to punch and kick and throw each other to the grounds, but it was clear that Gray had the advantage.

'Indeed, it is just as I calculated. Gray shall emerge victorious.' Juvia was overwhelmed by Gray's barrage of punches. The unbearable sin of taking the life of a dear comrade with your own hands...It shall dye your heart in pitch black darkness. And give birth to the ultimate warrior to defeat END! His Majesty shall be the one to defeat Acnologia, and grasp the entire world in his noble hands! All that stands in the way of his great ambition is that accursed END!'

Both mages were panting, severely weakened.

'Why is Juvia bringing harm to Gray-sama like this...It cannot be! These actions are unforgivable! The very thought of Juvia hurting Gray-sama...Juvia would rather simply meet her end at Gray-sama's hands...But that too is unacceptable! Because Gray-sama would surely blame himself...If that is the case...then the choice is obvious. Yes...Juvia shall end her own life, here and now! Before my consciousness fades away completely Juvia will...You have nothing to fear. Muster your courage and fortitude, Juvia!'

"Any and all resistance is utterly futile. 'Ice Lock' is a magic which completely imprisons one's heart. The two of you have long lost your ability to reason, and until one of you drops dead, the chain cannot be severed!"

"Juvia's body is far too small for these overflowing feelings to ever be imprisoned within it!" she cried out, forming a blade of water on her hand.

"Words cannot express the joy Juvia has felt getting to know you, Gray-sama." she smiled. And then she did it. She impaled herself. Gray's eyes widened in shock.

"Inconceivable! She took her life of her own accord?!"

"Why...did you go and do...something stupid like that…" Gray muttered, shoving his own ice sword through his body.

"Wha-?!"

'Both of them?! Simultaneously?!'

"Why...How could...you…"

"Gray-sama...This cannot be…"

"I could never...hurt a comrade...no...the thought of hurting you any further, I...That's why I...and yet…"

"Aah…"

"I wanted to...protect you...no matter what the cost...but...I couldn't…"

"No...Your words bring Juvia such joy...Gray-sama…"

'Wha...Have these imbeciles lost their minds?! This cannot be…'

'Damn it...It shouldn't have even come to this…Natsu...I'm begging you...avenge us…' The two fell over, bleeding out.

'Rather than killing one another, they voluntarily took their own lives…? How...How could any rational being do such a thing?! I've made a gross miscalculation. Now that it's come to this, it seems the duty of eliminating END falls unto my own two hands…' He walked away, and the blizzard disappeared.

'What the…? I'm...still alive?! That can't be...I made certain I was...this sensation...Juvia's blood is...flowing inside me?!' Gray sat up.

'Water Make Blood. In preparation for the absolute worst-case scenario, should something catastrophic befall Gray-sama..Juvia secretly perfected this blood transfusion magic...Juvia...will live on within you, Gray-sama. That is why...there is no reason to be sad.' Her final thoughts reached Gray.

"This isn't happening...Juvia…" Gray sobbed, holding her body.

'Because Juvia's life...will forever and always belong only to you, Gray-sama.'

"Juvia...I promise...I'll take your feelings more seriously, so...Please...just open your eyes…! I'm begging you...Juvia…" Gray screamed out as he held her lifeless body.

"Brandish was headed in this direction, as I recall…" Invel stopped, feeling an overwhelming magic power surging near him. He turned around to see a sight he didn't expect: Gray. And he was PISSED.

 **X**

"!" Silver looked up suddenly, dropping his mug, making it shatter on the floor.

"What's wrong?!" Layla asked. He was silent for a moment before calming down.

"...I just remembered, I forgot something at the palace, that's all…" he lied. He walked towards the guild's exit. Zeref watched silently.

"Who's gonna clean up the mug?!" Layla called after him.

"Why don't you do it, you're the one drinking it all anyway." Eileen said. Layla sighed and stood up before hiccuping.

 **X**

" _Ah, welcome home Silver!"_

" _Thanks Dad."_

" _Congratulations on becoming S-Class."_

" _Thanks."_

" _What's wrong? You seem a little down."_

" _Yeah...I had my first job as an S-Class for the guild."_

" _And how was it?"_

" _Completed, but something happened. The job was to take out some dark mages terrorizing a nearby town. Which I did, but as soon as I arrived, two people: a boyfriend and girlfriend, were taken hostage. They told me only one would survive, and to choose which one. I said I couldn't do that, and as I was about to freeze all of them, the two lovers killed themselves to go to the afterlife together."_

" _...On your first job? That must have been harsh…"_

" _You were a mage too, once. Why do people sacrifice themselves for the sake of others?"_

" _...Some people do it out of love. Others do it out of fear. But most of the time, I think our bodies just act on their own, without thinking. Without reason. We just do things."_

Silver stood over Juvia's lifeless body.

"...You'd better lose to Gray, Invel. If you don't, you'll have me to deal with. And I am not merciful to people who hurt my family." he said angrily.

 **X**

Brandish dropped Natsu, Lucy, and Happy at a remote location.

"What the hell are you trying to do?!" Natsu yelled, shaking his fist.

"Brandish, please! I don't want to fight you, no matter what!" She shrunk down to normal size.

"I feel the same way. I am in your debt, after all. As a special exception, I have chosen to turn a blind eye to you three."

"Special exception…?" Happy asked.

"As I made clear previously, I am a loyal citizen of Alvarez. I have no intention of betraying my homeland. So from this moment forward, I shall be returning to the battlefield and will annihilate every single one of your comrades. However...I will overlook the three of you, and return your kindness by sparing you."

"What?"

"You...do you even realize what that sounds like to us?"

"Randi...I put my faith in you...I believed in you, and yet…!" Dimaria said from up at the top of the coliseum, watching them.

"This battle...No matter how you look at it, we will be the victors. That has long been set in stone. The sheer numbers of our forces, and their individual skill levels. The Spriggan 12. August...Eileen. And on top of all that, the fact that the Emperor, at this very moment, is in the middle of obtaining Fairy Heart...it can mean only one thing. Whatever sliver of hope your side had of winning has now been reduced to zero."

"Those are just words...We ain't gonna know until we try."

"You may not know...but I do. Let me make this clear...all of your friends will die today."

"You really think I'll just sit here and watch them all die?"

"I'll have you know we've survived and overcome countless fierce battles in the past!"

"You know not the strength and terror of the twelve."

"You don't know our true strength either, do you?"

"Get it through your heads! You can't win!" she cried. Natsu and Lucy stepped back, startled.

"It's not just the twelve...but those five as well! I heard you fought Silver while he was in Tartaros, and you were frozen instantly! Did you even know that he wasn't even at half of his full strength then as compared to now?! And he's still the weakest of all of them! Lord Silver, Lady Eileen, Lord Zeref, Lord Yury, and especially Lady Layla. They're the last people in this world that you want to fight."

 **X**

"This is...unprecedented! I cannot believe you still breathe! But one thing is crystal, clear, you will not be able to fight at full strength with such grievous woun-" His sentence was cut short by a devastating full power punch from Gray right into his face. The force from the blow knocked him to the ground, where Gray slammed his foot onto Invel's stomach. He readied another punch.

'This man...This man is…!' Gray sent him flying through a wall. He recovered by placing his hand on the ground and slowed his speed.

'He seems intent on forcing me to unleash "that"...' Invel encased his whole body in a special kind of ice, creating a powerful knight's armor around himself.

"Ice-Rending Divine Raiment!" Gray charged up his fist with more power.

"This is ice from the depths of the underworld itself...all things unlucky enough to graze it shall freeze instantly.

"Even the likes of you...and your body's immunity to to ice...it matters not! This unholy armor freezes anything and everything without fail!" The two clashed. Gray's arm started freezing.

"Be frozen in time...and shatter to pieces!"

"...RAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gray screamed out, his fist overpowering Invel and smashing through his armor.

"Wha…"

"You wanna play that game, then fine...You all have no clue just how terrifying Fairy Tail can be." Natsu told Brandish.

"This cannot be!"

'He's utilizing ice of the same property as my Divine Raiment...and molding it?!'

"You stole away Juvia's future! Right from under her! And that's unforgivable! You're the one who's going to shatter to pieces, you son of a bitch! ICE DEVIL'S ZEROTH DESTRUCTION FIST!"

 **X**

"Recall the events that transpired on Caracolle Island. If we so desired, the twelve, myself included, could crush you all in mere seconds."

"Go ahead and try."

"Natsu!" Lucy complained.

"I never asked you to spare us...There's no need to overlook nothing'...When we decided to come here, we knew what we were getting ourselves into...we knew what was on the line!" Just then, Neinhart started walking towards them.

"Where is Lady Erza...Lady Erza…"

"Neinhart! Those eyes...you've been…"

"Kukuku...Indeed, you're bearing witness to Lady Eileen's formidable enchantment techniques. This unrivaled power exceeds even the limits of my own magic! Step aside, Brandish...those pitiful mages are comrades of Lady Erza. In other words...our enemies."

"Lady Erza…?"

"Fall back. I am in the middle of negotiations with them."

"Negotiations? Am I to interpret that as 'betrayal'? Betrayal to Lady Eileen?!" He screamed, creating a giant whirlwind that sliced Brandish's body up.

'Magic is having no effect?! He's been enhanced that much?!'

"You bastard!" Natsu yelled, running towards him.

"Stop, you mustn't! He's not an opponent whose strength you can hope to match!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"It ain't about whether I can match him or not! It's either 'move forward' or 'pull back'! And I don't know the meaning of the second one!" Natsu slammed his fist into Neinhart, sending him flying.

"Putting our heads down...and marching forward...one step at a time! That's what we do! THAT IS THE ONE AND ONLY PATH TO OUR GUILD!" Natsu punched Neinhart a second time, seemingly knocking him out.

'Did I miscalculate...was he truly...this strong…?!'

"'Attaboy, Natsu!"

"Just what did he mean by all that 'Lady Erza' talk…?"

 **X**

"Uuh…"

"No, you must lie still. Please do not try and get up just yet."

"Wendy…"

"If she had found you even a moment later, your life really would have been in danger."

"Well, to be more precise, it was thanks to Carla's precognition abilities that we were able to locate you."

"Juvia is...still alive? Juvia owes you her life, Wendy and Carla...Juvia thanks you from the bottom of her heart."

"Not at all! Healing is my forte, after all! I'm going to protect everyone! But I'm not just doing my own part...I've got Sherria's portion to do as well!"

"Just as Juvia was losing consciousness, she felt the sensation of being kissed by Gray-Sama!"

I can assure you...that was 100% definitely all in your imagination." Carla reassured.

"That's right! What has become of Gray-Sama?! Is he safe?!"

"He wasn't here when we arrived…"

 **X**

"I can stand here...and pound away at you all day and night...it won't bring Juvia back. She's...never coming back."

"The same could be said...for your mother...and master...as well. I suppose your father is fine…"

"How the hell do you know about them?"

"It is all predetermined by fate. As long as END remains undefeated, you are doomed to suffer through never ending misfortune and heartache."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Come on." he chuckled weakly. "Your parents were killed tragically by a demon. Your master by the same one. And when you see your father again, he is nothing but a reanimated corpse that you had to fight and kill. And now he's fighting you a second time, only for real and much stronger...It's all because of 'their' obsession to revive END."

"You don't need to tell me twice. I'm going to be the one defeat END."

"It would be more accurate to say you are the only one who can defeat END. However, you still are blissfully unaware...of its true identity. The mightiest of all demons from the Books of Zeref, and your true mortal enemy, is none other than a man you know all too well...Etherious Natsu Dragneel."

 **X**

'So she's alive…And he's down…' Silver looked up for a moment as he was walking back to the guild.

"Lord Silver! Hold it there for a moment!" Around 20 guards surrounded him. He stopped.

"What do you guys want?" he said somewhat impatiently.

'So it might be true then...he doesn't seem his normal relaxed self…'

"One of the guards informed us that he overheard you talking about killing Lord Invel! Is this true? If it is, I'm sure you're aware, but you'll be considered a traitor to the Empire."

"...Yeah, it's true." he said nonchalantly.

"Wh-What…?"

"He almost killed my son and future daughter-in-law. But both of them survived and took him out, so I didn't have to do anything."

"L-Lord Silver, you know that won't go unpunished! We'll have to report this to the Emperor!"

"So what?" he laughed. "Layla gives me a free pass for everything, I've been her best friend since childhood! You really think you guys are gonna make a difference? Besides, not one of you is leaving here alive." he said darkly. They quickly readied their weapons, terrified.

"Heaven God's Renditional Gust." He swiped his hand to the side, creating a pink surge of wind that instantly sliced all of the guards in half instantly, leaving their corpses in a pile. Silver left them, as his cape blew in the wind, continuing back to the guild.

 **End.**

 **Okay, so here it is if you couldn't guess the big plot twist. Layla is not the final villain this time! Her mother, Isabella, is the representation of Chaos, the eternal and endless void, and also the most powerful primordial deity that everything originated from, in Greek Mythology. Secondly, when Silver talked about being merciless to people who hurt his family, he meant Juvia, not Fairy Tail. While he used to be a member of Fairy Tail (at least according to this story), remember that he talked to Juvia during the Tartaros Arc, assuming that she was his love interest/girlfriend. He keeps that thought in his mind here, as he told the soldiers that he considers her his future daughter-in-law, and would become angry if one of the twelve did anything to his family. Hope you enjoyed! What do you think about Isabella?**


	8. Isabella

"Where might I be now then?" Acnologia walked around the corridors of Isabella's palace.

"It's too dark, I can't see much…" He finally saw a light at the end of the hall, so he walked towards it. He came out into the throne room. He looked around.

"There's not much here...Where am I?"

"...Oh, it's you." The dark dragon looked up towards the throne to find a familiar face sitting there.

"...My, my. I didn't expect to see you again. You're supposed to be dead."

"Nothing can kill me."

"I can't say I'm surprised. You always kept your secrets, just like your daughter."

"We're alike, I suppose."

"More than you know."

"So what are you doing here? How did you find this place? It's on a different dimensional plane than your world."

"I was sent here as a result of Eileen's magic, that Universe One spell."

"Oh, so that spell can cross worlds as well. Interesting. And what are you going to do now that you're here? The only way out is to fight me."

"Ohhh Nonononono." he laughed, holding his hands up. "Don't think I don't know about your real powers, Isabella. There are three people in this world I can't defeat, and you are at the very top of the list."

"I see. That's quite unfortunate for you."

"What do you mean?" his smile quickly faded.

"This castle is mine. There are only two ways out of here. Either I let you out, or you make me let you out."

"...Well then...I'm not going to simply stay here, I have other things to do back in my world. Let's see what you're made of, God of Chaos." He grinned, jumping up towards her. She raised her head ever so slightly, not moving from her seat, her eyes staring down the evil dragon.

 **X**

Juvia and Wendy continued walking slowly through the town.

"Juvia, make sure you don't push yourself. I don't want you re-opening any wounds."

"Yeah…" she said softly. She was more preoccupied thinking about how she was healed. She was almost dead, there's no way Wendy's magic healed her that quickly and from that state. Plus, she didn't sense that much Sky Dragon magic on her. What she sensed was something stronger, something different, something cold. And slightly familiar too. It was like Gray's magic, but colder, and stronger. It felt confident, and powerful, and...godlike.

"...Silver-sama…?" she whispered.

"Juvia, did you say something?" Wendy asked.

"...No, it was nothing….." they kept walking in silence.

 **X**

"This is pathetic." Isabella looked down at a beaten Acnologia laying on the floor.

"Such a boring opponent. Not a scratch on me, and I didn't even move to make you wind up in this state…" Acnologia gritted his teeth, growling. He stood up and rushed towards her again.

"Again with this?" she sighed, leaning her chin on her hand. She used her empty hand to point her finger at him, stopping him in midair.

"You...bitch…"

"Did you not understand when we first started fighting, Acno? Chaos was everything. An endless void, before Nyx and Hemera were born. Therefore, my powers give me control over anything and everything. I imagine something, it becomes real. I want you dead, and you die. Don't you get that?" She placed the finger on his chest and blasted a black and purple beam from her fingertip through him. She slowly lowered her hand, undoing Acnologia's levitation, and making him fall on the stairs and roll down onto the floor.

"I don't have the enthusiasm to kill you right now. Begone." He became engulfed in light before disappearing.

"Who knows where he'll end up?" Isabella blew her hair out of her face.

 **X**

"If you're planning on getting in our way, then I'll have no choice but to fight you too." Natsu began walking away.

"I beg of you, Brandish. Stand aside!"

"What a pain…" she sighed. Natsu clutched his chest and began breathing heavily.

"Natsu! What's the matter?! You suddenly just…" His breathing got worse, and he began hyperventilating.

"Get a grip, Natsu!" Her prayers went unanswered when he fell over.

"It appears you've forgotten...It was I who shrunk his tumor in the first place. I simply restored it to its original size."

"Why would you do such a thing?!"

"Why, you ask? Because that man is a threat to us. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Please, stop! Don't make Natsu suffer like this!" Happy cried.

"You three chose to be my enemies."

"You're twisting things! We can still be friends!"

"Do not confuse our relationship with that of our mothers. The two of us were raised in different countries, fight for different objectives, and are now standing in opposition to one another. It may be true that I no longer bear a grudge against you personally...But can't you see?! By choosing to take your stance, you've painted me into a corner and left me with no other options!" She threw her coat off. "I'm tired of searching for answers. Let's settle this the simple way, Lucy."

"Fair enough...If I win, promise me you'll heal Natsu."

"You seem to be mistaken, Lucy. When I said 'settle this', I was not referring to a duel between you and I. I'm going to settle things with myself, who, if only for a fleeting moment, had become emotional and sentimental over the thought of killing and parting ways with you. Fact of the matter is, you never had even a remote chance of winning against me from the outset."

"I asked you to promise me!" Lucy yelled, kicking towards her. Brandish caught her foot.

"Sure, why not. But make no mistake...you cannot win." She rammed her foot into Lucy's stomach, sending her flying back.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

"We Are! Let's do this, Lucy!"

"Ok!"

"Sand Buster: Kai!" He released a giant sand wave that launched Lucy towards Brandish. She circled around her, launching a series of blows that were too fast for her to block.

"Command T: Reduction!" She swiped her hand through the air, shrinking Lucy down. She grabbed her.

"I'll squeeze the life out of you with my bare hands!" She became giant and jumped into the air, then plummeting towards the city, preparing to smash Lucy into the ground.

"Cancer Form!" She broke out of Brandish's hold, wielding two blades, one in each hand. She quickly hopped across her body, slicing as she went.

"Take this!" Lucy created a flurry of slashes.

"How irritating! Revert to your original size!" But Lucy wasn't there anymore. She appeared above Brandish and flipped over to her side.

"Aqua Metria!" She went into her Aquarias form and kicked Brandish to the ground. The earth started to swell and went towards Brandish.

"That was...awesome!" Happy gasped.

"That's a spell that makes the earth swell and surge like ocean waves. And she picked it up from none other than my girl, Aquarias!" Scorpio gave a thumbs up.

"Command T: Reduction!" Brandish shrunk the attack, nullifying it.

"She compressed my magic?!"

"The difference in quality of magic power is simply too great. Between you and I...a Spriggan, that is! Command T: Magnification!" She blasted an energy ball towards Lucy, sending her flying.

"I admit it...you're far stronger than me! But who cares...I don't have the luxury of losing! The truth is, I can barely muster the resolve to fight with you right now! But as conflicted as I am, this is something I have to do! Because I'm going to protect Natsu...no matter the cost!"

"...I don't want to fight you…"

"!"

"...But I have no other choice. It's either this or be killed."

"What do you mean…?"

"At this point, there's no way I can go back to Alvarez unless I want to die. Lord Yury does not tolerate insubordination, especially if it's with Fairy Tail."

"Why is he so against our guild?"

"Ha! You should know more than I! He was your guild's founder! One of them, at least! All I know is that he left with Zeref in the year X700 to wage war against you. I suspect the only ones who know about his past are the other 4 gods. But no one dares to cross him. He is the most merciless person in the empire, and even though your mother leads us, she has him take care of most affairs."

"Then if he's that twisted, just leave the empire and join us!"

"I can't...he'll find me, no matter where I go...Lord Silver and Lady Eileen are the same way, though not quite to his extent. They don't appreciate traitors, and will hunt them down. I don't think your mother would have very many qualms about killing me, either."

"My mother would never…!"

"STOP BEING SO NAIVE! Your mother has slaughtered thousands of people in her conquest of my continent! You need to accept the fact that she is a villain, Lucy! She lied to you, and intends to take you down in order to further her own goals!" Lucy was trying not to cry, but had a hard time stopping herself.

"That's quite enough. Let's end this farce of a battle here and now, shall we?" Dimaria walked up behind them.

"Mari…"

"A farce?! What are you getting at?!"

"Ignorance sure is bliss...from the very start, Randi here had no intention of killing that man...or you, for that matter. Is that clear enough for you? Returning the tumor to its original size? Don't make me laugh. If you so desired it, you could enlarge all his internal organs and cause him to blow from within. The same goes for the girl. You needed only shrink her and crush her beneath your feet. So the question becomes...why didn't you? I have a theory...you realized I was watching from afar and decided the best course of action would be to throw the battle in order to deceive me. Such a pity, Randi...you're simply no good to us anymore." She clicked her teeth to activate her Age Seal.

"St…" Dimaria cut through her with a knife in a flash, making blood spill everywhere.

"Op….."

"NOOOOOOO!" Lucy shrieked.

"Tell me...are you the one responsible for corrupting my Randi?" She slammed her foot onto Lucy's head, pushing her into the ground.

"I'll make sure your death is a slow and painful one you little bitch! Time to pay you back for what your grandmother did to my people!"

 **X**

"Oh, that pain in the ass." Isabella stood up. "Nyx, I'm going out! Watch the palace!"

"Yes, my lady." Isabella created a chaos portal and walked through it, disappearing from her castle.

 **X**

"...Hey…Layla...do you feel that?" Silver asked.

"Yeah….it feels like….but it's not."

"What?" Yury asked.

"A powerful mage just appeared, and it feels similar to my mother's magic power...but I know it's not her." Layla said.

"Your mother? I never met her." Zeref said.

"I did, a few times when I would visit Layla at her house." Silver said, polishing another mug.

"What was she like?" Layla created a portal and reached into it, pulling out a framed portrait of Isabella. She showed it to her comrades.

"Holy shit, she's gorgeous." Eileen gasped. She looked like Layla but even more elegant (if you can believe that), and her hair was in a twist-back style.

"Yeah, actually both Lucy and I can't compare to my mother's beauty." Layla closed her eyes, putting the portrait back into the portal.

"What was with her eye color?" Yury asked.

"Oh, that. My mother Isabella had a rare genetic mutation called Alexandria's Genesis."

"Isn't that not supposed to be real?" Zeref asked.

"Technically no, but she had it."

"What is it?" Yury asked.

"Every baby is born with blue or gray eyes. After six months or so, their eye color begins to change, unless it stays one of those colors. Alexandria's Genesis is a genetic mutation that causes purple eye color. It begins light and hazy, but by the time they become a teenager, it becomes darker, like a royal purple. It's a rare condition that only happens in women. Besides the eyes, the afflicted never grows any body hair, save for their face. They also don't go through menstruation, but are still fertile. Their skin is silky white, slightly pale, but not completely. They're extremely attractive as well."

"Lucky girl." Eileen smirked.

"Yeah." she looked up at the ceiling.

"Your mother taught you magic, right?"

"Well, at least the basics. She died when I was quite young, so I learned Celestial and Heavenly Magic on my own. You taught me the Black Arts." she pointed at Zeref. "And I suppose Yury helped train me in Devil Slaying, God, and Take Over."

"You suppose? I used to kick your ass in training every day." he said.

"Haha, yeah, I remember that! I never could beat you once." Eileen continued to extract Fairy Heart from Mavis.

"I specialize in detaching magic, and yet...never before has it taken this much time for me to extract magic from something."

"Eileen."

"Your Majesty...did you still have some business with me? I'd very much like to focus, if you don't mind."

"I'd like you to stay your hand for a moment. Stop what you're doing, and heed my words."

"Exactly what is the meaning of this?"

"I want to have one final conversation with Mavis; just the two of us."

"You're saying this now, when we're so close to the finish line? Pardon my saying so, but this is beyond a foolish suggest-"

"I require but three minutes. Could you allow me that amount of time?"

"But, Your Majesty…"

"Eileen! That apparition is not me! It's an imposter!" The real Zeref yelled from behind the illusion.

"Your Majesty?!" The fake Zeref became ethereal.

"It cannot be…An illusion?!" Mavis disappeared as well.

"!" The others looked over. Yury clenched his fists.

"Indeed. It's a magic which Mavis particularly excels in."

"But when did she have the opportunity to…?!"

"It seems Invel has been incapacitated as well…" 

"...You're telling me that I...of all people...was so handily deceived…?"

"Pursue her immediately. Remember, you mustn't wound her under any circumstances."

"With pleasure…" she said darkly.

"Oh no you don't. I'm going with you to ensure that you don't fuck this up." Yury stood up and started walking towards the door. "Let's go."

"But Lord Yury, I'm more than capable-" She was shut up instantly when he shot her a furious look.

"...Yes, sir." She walked after him. Zeref sighed and sat at a table.

'Now then, this other power that suddenly appeared. What to do about it? If that really is Isabella, then we're in trouble…' he started sweating.

 **X**

"To think the day would come that I'd have to flee from my own guild…" a weakened Mavis said, crawling down the mountain that Fairy Tail was on.

"I must reconvene with the others by any means possible...However, given my current position, returning to my allies will prove exceptionally difficult…"

"I shall escort you back to everyone." Mest held his hand out.

 **X**

"Yeah...that about does it for me...I couldn't even lift a fork...if I wanted to…"

"Droy! Get the hell up!"

"I'm sorry...but…it looks like this is...the end of the line...for me."

"Droy!"

"It's too soon to give up! I'll keep 'em busy here! So you guys fall back and regroup!"

"Gajeel…"

"Don't bother...wasting your energy...for a couple of useless scrubs like us...urgh…You're in worse shape than us, for crying out loud!"

"For all intents and purposes, my life was over...so having the opportunity to stand here again and shield a couple of buddies like this...I couldn't ask for anything more!"

"Buddies…?"

"You actually...see us as your bud…"

"My ears must be deceiving me...those words coming from Gajeel…" Lily sliced through more enemies with his sword.

"Lily!"

"You sound like you've turned over a new leaf, Gajeel…"

"Levy." He turned to her.

"Gajeel…Gajeel, you…Big Doofus!" She kicked him in the face. "Stupid...you said it yourself...you're gonna take me back to the guild, right? So you better...keep your word!"

"Yeah. The guild's right in front of us."

"Ahh, youth is such a wonderful thing." Zera said from behind a wall.

"Who the hell are you?!" Jet yelled.

"Wait… this voice is…"

"Hi there...I'm Zera."

"You were the one who guided us to the guild…"

"Seems like she's a friend of the first's."

"Wait just a minute though...your body…" Zera's body started disappearing as well.

"What the…?! It's transparent!"

"This can only mean Mavis' consciousness is finally returning...If things kept up as they had been, and I was completely forgotten, I was wondering what I would do, but...I'm merely an illusion created by Mavis' subconscious, so...as soon as Mavis remembers everything about me, I'll vanish completely."

"That's...terrible…" Levy sobbed.

"Ah! It's already been over 100 years since I died, so please, there's no need to start letting the waterworks fly! So much time has passed, so trust me, I won't be offended!"

"You're saying a young lady's voice gathered everyone here?"

"It's speculation but, I'm guessing it was voice that could only be heard by Fairy Tail members."

"Just who...who would be capable of such a th- ZERA!"

'Took you long enough...sheesh...You had me worried there for a minute!'

'So you were the one who brought everyone here...I see...as a result of my revival, you…'

'I've already done everything I can here…'

'Thanks to you, the two of us have become one once again.'

'I believe in you, Mavis…'

'Pleasant dreams, Zera.'

'I believe in...Fairy Tail…'

'You'll live on forever...together with me…'

"She...vanished…"

"Aw man...she was totally my type, too~"

"We owe ya' one, Zera."

"Thank you."

"And with that, we've got one more thing to look forward to after our victory. We'll get to hear all the stories of the first's adventures with Zera. The story of the origins of Fairy Tail!"

"First...Zera has returned home."

"She's here, within me…"

"I...uh...the thing is, I…"

"Now, the time has come for all of us to return to the place where we belong...our home...our guild."

 **X**

In a dark and battered old room, Lucy was unconscious and restrained, tied up against a chair. Dimaria stood over her.

"I hold you responsible! You killed her! You killed my Randi!" She said, holding her head.

"Now then...What sort of torturous hell shall I show you to make you repent?"

"There you are!"

"Porlyusica! Please, do not rush so!" Evergreen pleaded.

"My word! such grievous injuries!" she bent down, looking at Brandish.

"Y...You're…"

"I'm Fairy Tail's apothecary consultant. But nevermind that. What has become of Natsu?"

"Natsu…"

"My earlier diagnosis was mistaken! That tumor which you shrank...It wasn't anti-ethernano! I'm afraid it is something far worse!"

Dimaria stood over the unconscious Natsu with a blade to his neck.

"What do you think you're doing? I need those two." Dimaria's hand twitched and she looked across the room where a familiar face stood.

"You….." she growled.

"Hello, Dimaria. Long time no see."

"Isabella Heartfilia…"

 **End.**

 **Please please please review or PM to let me know if you want deaths! I decided to leave Acnologia alive for now, but I'd like to know for sure about Mystogan before I bring him back into the story. And also for Mavis, especially because Yury left to go after her, so their fight is coming up soon. I hope you enjoyed this. A nice surprise that the new chapter of Fairy Tail came out on a Saturday instead of Monday.**


	9. END

"Why are you here…?" Dimaria asked cautiously, taking the knife off of Natsu's neck.

"I just came to check up on my darlings." She inspected Lucy's face briefly before walking over to Natsu. "You're not going to ask why I'm alive? Oh wait, that's right, it's you. You've been keeping track of me ever since that day that I passed over you as my assistant."

"As much as I'd like to, I know there's no point in me trying to fight you, I'd be crushed." Isabella laughed softly.

"I'd like to warn you about something though. You're not aware of who Natsu really is, are you? If you kill him, Dimaria, I will not be happy. He is a necessary part of this war. If it were chess pieces, you would simply be a pawn, while he would be a bishop. Understood? Kill him, and I'll personally hunt you down and torture you. It doesn't matter how much you beg me to end it, I won't. I'll keep going. Understood?"

"...Yes."

"Good. So long." She disappeared. Dimaria noticed Lucy starting to stir.

'She didn't say anything about the girl, though.' she smirked.

"...Huh? Natsu!" Lucy saw him tied up across from her. Then she noticed her own situation.

"What...is all this?! When did I…?! Magic-Sealing Stone?!"

"Ishgar actually has some rather convenient tools, wouldn't you say? Not long ago, I was...done in by them as well. Restrained, tied up, and looking pitiful with no means of escape...pretty much how you are now."

"How could you do that to Brandish…" Lucy asked angrily.

"Me? No, no...you were the one who broke her." She clicked her teeth. "And no matter how much you beg and plead, I will have you pay for it." She now stood behind Natsu, holding Lucy's top.

'Teleportation?'

"Wha-?! What's the big idea you pervert?! Give it back!"

"Oh, don't you worry, I'll strip down this guy too, and then you'll be in the same boat! Although…The little punk's not moving at all, is he? Don't tell me he's already…" She lifted Natsu's head up. Dimaria clicked her teeth again, now standing on top of Lucy.

"What big beautiful eyes you have. I wonder...are all Ishgarians born with them? Or is it just your wretched family?"

"!"

"Just looking at them really pisses me off. I suppose gouging them out would be a good place to start, don't you think?"

"What do you know about my family?"

"I'm not telling. You can go ask Zeref about my relationship to that bitch Isabella."

"?"

"That's the best expression you can manage? Some tears and screaming in terror would be nice...It would really help to set the mood." She readied the blade, pointing it at Lucy's eyes.

"I'd much rather lose my eyes than entertain your twisted fetishes, you scum! Even if I can't see everyone's smiling faces, I'll always remember each and every one of them. The sight of our guild. The streets of Magnolia, with all the shops and houses...All the stains and dirty spots on the books I've read...I'll remember them all. IF YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO DO IT, THEN GET ON WITH IT ALREADY! DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND THAT I'M SCARED OF THE LIKES OF YOU!"

"You rebellious little bitch! I'm gonna take that pretty face of yours and take my time covering it in scars!"

'Natsu!' There was a stabbing sound before Lucy lost consciousness.

"H-Huh? What happened?" Dimaria asked. Instead of plunging into Lucy, the blade had been kicked away by a small burst of flame.

"Y-You're awake…" she chuckled.

"You...What were you about to do?" he said, growling demonically.

"What…? What happened to your voice? Are you truly that concerned about a worthless bitch like her?"

"Where...is Zeref…?"

"The Emperor? I'm not telling you-" Suddenly, Natsu appeared in front of her in an instant, even though her Time Seal was still active.

'Wh-Wha-?! Impossible! He shouldn't be able to move like-'

Natsu surrounded himself in a dark red and evil aura, pulling his hand back punching Dimaria in the stomach, sending her flying back against the wall. He turned around and stomped the ground, sending a shockwave to Lucy's chair, shattering it. She fell to the ground, her restraints now loose. Natsu turned back around.

"You're going to pay for what you did." His face was now covered in etherious marks like Tartaros' members were.

"Y-Y-You…" Dimaria was actually starting to tear up.

" _You're not aware of who Natsu really is, are you?"_

Isabella's words echoed in her head.

'Don't tell me he's...E.N.D.?'

 **X**

"...Huh? What just...spattered blood?" Lucy woke up slowly, wiping the blood stain off her face. "My restraints have been undone...and the chair I was tied to was shattered to pieces…? What happened to her?! And what about Natsu?!"

"Uugh…" Lucy turned to see something truly shocking and frightening. Dimaria, her once proud captor, was burned, beaten and bloodied. Her eyes were almost rolled back into her head, and were widened in fear. Her skin was pale and sweaty.

"Mon...ster…"

"Natsu?! Where is Natsu?!" Lucy asked, noticing that his chair was broken as well.

"It's a...monster…"

'It couldn't be...did Natsu…?! How horrible…'

"That he could move freely within 'my time'...I've never seen anything like it...You're telling me his power surpasses even the gods?! Something capable of those feats...It could only be E.N.D."

"Lucyyy!" Happy yelled, flying into her.

"Happy!"

"Natsu isn't with you?" The other three walked in.

"Porlyusica!"

"Randi…" Dimaria looked at her, still scared. "Do you know what he is…?"

"..."

"You're still alive...what a relief…"

"More importantly, you must bind Mari with those restraints immediately, while you still can. Mari can stop time so dealing with her attacks would be quite troublesome." Brandish told her.

"Just what exactly happened here?" Evergreen asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine...I was captured, together with Natsu….but….when I came to my senses, that woman was barely conscious mumbling to herself, and Natsu was nowhere to be found…"

"Do you recall the tumor which formed within Natsu? At the time, I was under the impression that it was an Anti-Ethernano tumor which had developed due to Natsu overexerting his magic power. However...it turns out it was something else entirely. Even I cannot determine what exactly it is, but...In response to this girl returning the tumor to its former size, its likely that his body suffered an 'attack'...or perhaps it would be more accurate to say...it has awakened...A sinister, demonic power…"

'E.N.D.?' Happy thought.

"I...I have to go search for Natsu…!"

"Looking like that?"

"Perv…" Ever and Brandish mocked, while Lucy covered herself, forgetting she was half-naked.

 **X**

Outside, the battlefield had been turned into a ravaged, flaming wasteland. Natsu slowly walked through it, still surrounded by his demonic aura.

"Zeref...where is...Zeref…" he mumbled.

"There...he is." He looked up the mountain at the location of the guild.

"Natsu…" Gray stood nearby, looking at his former friend.

"Gray…" he snarled.

"Oh my...it seems our friend has finally bared his fangs." Layla smirked. Silver narrowed his eyes.

"Well well...it's finally happening. Although his powers are incomplete." Yury looked up at the sky.

"E.N.D.?" Eileen asked. "Such evil power. Delicious."

"It seems that it's begun. I believe I just won this war." Isabella smiled, watching Natsu and Gray from a nearby cliff.

"Move."

"You're E.N.D., aren't you?"

"Out of the way!"

"Answer me, Natsu!"

"I'm gonna...defeat Zeref...And for that, I...Zeref…"

"You won't listen to reason anymore?"

"Mind your own business...I'm gonna….Zeref…"

" _The Demons from the Book of Zeref are tools that the Emperor created to kill himself. The Emperor lamented his immortality and as a means to die, he created demons. Etherious Natsu Dragneel. The most powerful demon that used to be the Emperor's younger brother." Invel explained to Gray. "The demons from the book have something similar to an 'instinct.' A certain 'thought' as their desire. The thought of killing...Zeref…"_

" **I WILL KILL HIM."** Natsu said angrily.

"And to think that my 'enemy' was right beside me…"

"Move."

"My parents, Ur...Everything I suffered...was because of the demons from the Book of Zeref...Because of that, Juvia…"

"Get out of my way!"

"Rest assured, Natsu. I WILL STOP YOU AND KILL YOU!" Gray yelled, his Devil Slayer Marks taking over his body.

" **GET OUT OF MY WAY, GRAY!"** Natsu roared, with fire demon magic swirling around him. The two clashed, punching each other, completely even for the time being. A large amount of magic power was being projected, dwarfing the surrounding landscape.

 **X**

"I changed its size too. But the damage overall remained…" Brandish was explaining Natsu's 'wound' to Porlyusica.

"You said that Natsu moved within the time that you had stopped?" Evergreen asked Dimaria, who wasn't answering. "And that he basically transformed into a monster?"

"Even being able to make the wound that small...I couldn't stop hesitating."

"It's okay, right? People hesitate and care about their own failures...So even when they happen to increase…It's okay to hesitate about your determination. I think this is also proof that you're alive." Lucy told her friend, now wearing clothes again.

"Stay here, I'll look for Natsu!"

"We have to stop him!" Happy said, coming along with her.

"I need to find Gray-sama…" Juvia gasped.

"It's too early to be moving!" Wendy told her.

"If this keeps going, Gray-sama will break…"

Gray and Natsu were panting and shouting at each other, dodging their attacks and still fighting. Gray swung a punch towards him, but he ducked and clawed at him, startling the ice mage.

"I'm not gonna hold back!"

" _Lucy! Why aren't you moving?! Lucy! Lucy!" Natsu cried, cradling her body in his arms._

" **I WON'T STOP!"**

" **I WILL DEFEAT YOU! AND TAKE YOUR LIFE!"**

 **X**

Makarov was losing stamina.

"Master!" Alzack called out.

"Don't worry about me...Go!"

"Even if we wanted to...The number of enemies simply won't decrease...this is endless!"

"Don't worry! I'll make a path!" Erza cut down a lot of them.

"Master, hang in there."

"I'm sorry…"

"Our friends will definitely return to the guild!"

"That's obvious, stupid!" Suddenly, a bunch of people screamed.

"What is that thing?!" Erza looked up and saw Eileen's giant eye floating in the sky again. This time, her voice could be heard as well.

"Mavis...wherever you hide, it's futile. You cannot run away...from my eyes!"

"I'm not running nor hiding." Mavis' voice said back, telepathically.

"The place where you all belong is our guild! And we will take it back no matter what! Oh friends that listen to my voice! You are like a blade that the Fairy Strategist shall wield." A giant vision of Mavis towered over the land, facing towards the mountain.

"How flashy and encouraging…" Gildarts said.

"She elevated the spirit of everyone in the battlefield with a single shout…" Erza admired her.

"I see...she planned every word she said...How I hate that girl…" Eileen growled.

"Mavis. Enough of these games. Just come out already." Yury spoke through the eye.

"Th-That voice is…!" Mira became scared again.

"Mira?" Makarov asked.

"I'm tired of waiting. Come finish this. Now!"

"That voice...Mavis, do you know him?" Mira asked.

"Yes. Yury wants me." she narrowed her eyes and began to walk towards his direction.

 **X**

Eileen tapped her staff on the ground, creating rays of light that branched out, hitting all of the soldiers. Their appearance changed and their personalities became wild. Their heads were now made of fire.

"Enchantment: Berserker." she smirked. One of them hit Erza's sword and blew her back with a single strike. They began attacking everyone and overwhelming them.

"Berserker enhances their abilities many times. It has the flaw of taking away their ability to think though. So what's your move? Mavis." Erza slashed through a bunch of them, but they didn't stop, despite the fact that they were injured.

"Is this the end…?" Makarov asked himself.

"Master! We can't give up! I'll create a path no matter what…"

"This is the end. Of my journey." He changed into a Fairy Law stance.

"You can't!" Mavis called out. "The more enemies you face while using Fairy Law, the shorter your lifespan will be! If you use it against a massive army like this, your body won't survive!"

"First...I'm well aware of that already. I don't want you to stop me...Since this is my stage."

"I have a plan! One that will save us from this situation and-"

"Just shut the hell up!" Mavis flinched.

"The kids are suffering right before my eyes. And they are wounded. To you they may be mere 'soldiers'...but to me they are irreplacable children."

"I...did not mean…"

"I know. We can win with your plan, First. I know that much. But I can't stand seeing these kids' blood being spilled for another moment! If with the short lifespan of this old soldier...I can create a future for those kids...this will be a cheap price to pay." he grinned.

"Master!" Erza called out.

"Listen, Erza."

"I won't listen to anything! Let's return to the guild together!"

"From hereon, even if it's painful...if you walk together with your comrades, there will be a way. Believe in your friends. Believe in yourself. The guild is your family. Never forget that. Thanks to all of you...my journey has filled with happiness."

"MASTER!"

"I don't have any regrets, so...all of you, play nice. FAIRY LAW!" And with that, all of the soldiers were wiped out, as well as Makarov…

"...It seems he sacrificed himself to save all of them…" Eileen told Yury.

"..."

"Do you feel any remorse for him?"

"...No. None. I left when he was quite young. He probably doesn't even remember me very well."

"You're cold hearted." she chuckled. "I mean, come on, he's your only child, and you outlived him. Isn't that just a little sad, to you?"

"...Perhaps just a bit. But I don't have time to grieve. Besides, Makarov was never my intended target to begin with."

" _Yury, can I ask you something?"_

" _What is it?"_

" _I understand your desire to get revenge on Mavis. But why take it out on the rest of Fairy Tail as well? The current members had nothing to do with her decision."_

" _I have my reasons. I'm not angry at Mavis simply for causing Rita's death, I'm angry at her for not heeding your warning about the curse. If she had, then sure, Rita wouldn't be dead, but she would also be more careful and perhaps had learned how to control her abilities. But she didn't. And the guild follows her blindly. They still do. And because of that, they will always be naive."_

" _Yes, I get it. But you must also understand that they don't know what we do. About Natsu and I, or even that you and Layla are still alive, and Silver will be too."_

" _And can you honestly say that even if they did know these things, that they would understand us and our reasons? They still wouldn't join us."_

" _Well...no. No, I suppose not."_

" _Look, Zeref. I'm simply doing what I think is best. And as long as Fairy Tail exists, they're a nuisance, that will stand in the way of our goals."_

" _You're starting to sound like her."_

" _Like Isabella? I'm not so sure about that. She was far stronger and smarter than I ever was or ever will be."_

" _And she took all of her secrets with her to the grave."_

" _Yes. A mistake I don't plan to make. I refuse to die before I see Mavis' blood-soaked corpse lie dead at my feet. I'm sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable."_

" _No, not anymore. I love Layla now. And nothing can change that."_

 **X**

" _Master...could you do me the honor of naming this child, and becoming his godparent?"_

" _W-What? You would ask me?! Makarov!"_

Mavis fell to the ground, crying. But then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Stand up for us one more time, First. There are still enemies who require our attention. And we cannot win without your strategies. Now...come on."

"Laxus…" she sobbed.

"Not just for us, but for the old geezer's sake too."

"How many of our people have been taken out?" Zeref asked Eileen.

"I'd say roughly 70-80% of our forces, if I were to make a quick estimate."

"I'd expect nothing less from that man. I must give credit where credit is due. Even so, I sorely underestimated it...the magic which I once taught to Mavis, and which she then passed on to Makarov."

"That being said, there were no casualties among the remaining members of the twelve. The flow of this battle is unlikely to change in any significant way from this point forth."

 **X**

Natsu and Gray continued fighting each other, but Natsu now had the upper hand. Gray created ice particles that flew at Natsu. He dodged all of them, but then found his foot frozen. Gray fired a beam of ice at him, sending him flying back. Natsu slammed his hand into the ground, stopping his momentum. Gray summoned a few ice geysers from the ground, while Natsu blasted a wave of fire towards him. He flew through it and punched through Gray's ice wall, but he just made another one, and Natsu slammed into it.

"I'm putting a stop to you here and now...Natsu!" He formed a giant crystal tower that froze Natsu and the surrounding area. But the fire demon smashed through it instantly.

"GRAYYYY!"

"NATSUUUUU!" The two charged up their powers in their fists and clashed with each other. They screamed out, trying to overpower the other. But then, Erza stood between them, blocking their strikes.

"What do you two imbeciles...think you're doing…?"

"Erza…"

"Tears…?" Gray asked, noticing she was crying.

 **X**

 **X761**

" _Are you ready?"_

" _Yeah, let's do it!"_

 _ **15 minutes later,**_

" _Was that all, Layla?"_

" _Damn…" she laughed._

" _You may be used to being the strongest around the guild, but that doesn't make you invincible. Remember that there are people that are still stronger than you."_

" _Yeah, but...I didn't expect you to know 8 different kinds of Dragon Slaying Magic."_

" _So then you train harder and try to overcome that obstacle. The whole point of this training is for you to beat me, no matter how long it takes."_

 _ **3 Years Later: X764**_

" _Trying again, are we?"_

" _Yeah. I had to retire my Celestial Spirits, but I have mastered the Black Arts and some Devil Slaying Magic now."_

" _Very well. Let's begin."_

 _ **An Hour Later**_

" _Not bad. You lasted an hour this time."_

" _What's the point?" she coughed. "Three years of training and only 45 minutes later. You're intentionally keeping your magical prowess from me. How was I supposed to know that you know Light God Magic?" she pouted._

" _Why would I tell you everything about myself the first time? Like I said, the goal is to defeat me, no matter how many times it takes and no matter what problems present themselves." Layla sat down._

" _How many times have we sparred now though?" she sighed._

" _I think this was number 50."_

" _See what I mean? 50 times, and every single one is a loss for me. This is taking a toll on my body, and I'm starting to feel like there's no possibility of me beating you. Maybe I'm not the person you want for this job…"_

" _...No. You are. And no one else, we're sure of that. I take it you know about your God Soul?"_

" _Yes…"_

" _We are the same, you know. Zeref and I."_

" _Huh?! You mean you're…?!"_

" _Descendants of Erebus and Aether, yes. He wants to assemble five of us together."_

" _Five? Who's the fifth?"_

" _A young girl around your age. That's all we know. We haven't been able to locate her yet."_

" _So you really did need me for this job."_

" _No. That's not quite it. You were chosen for opening the Eclipse Gate merely because you live in this time period. If it wasn't you, it would be whoever else. Your powers are very different from everyone else. We need to assemble the five descendants of the gods in order to carry out our two main operations: to obtain Fairy Heart, and to revive END."_

" _And if i want to carry out those plans effectively, then you want me to be stronger."_

" _Stronger than me. Stronger than Zeref. The strongest, as you should be. You are descended from Nyx, the oldest, most powerful, and most beautiful goddess. You deserve to lead this empire."_

" _...Not until I beat you." she smirked._

" _That's the spirit." he grinned back at her._

 _ **Ten Years Later, X774**_

" _This time. This time for sure. It's been ten years since that time."_

" _I hope for your sake it is this time. There's only 3 years left until we have to open the Eclipse Gate, and if you can't defeat me after training for ten, then I might have to take the throne."_

" _That's not going to happen."_

 _ **5 Hours Later**_

 _The two of them were lying on the floor, breathing heavily._

" _Well...you did it."_

" _Don't give me that...neither of us used God Soul...we'll never truly know who's stronger…"_

" _If you could beat me without our God Souls, then the same outcome should happen if we did use them, right? Even if you didn't use your full power, the Lucifer form was enough to beat me. Something that no one's been able to do for 70 years."_

" _It still took me everything I had though…"_

" _But that's a good thing."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _You're the leader of this army, but you are the strongest. There's nothing I hate more than a cowardly commander or ruler who can't even defend themselves."_

" _Well, you won't have to worry about that with me." she laughed, sitting up._

" _Case in point." he stood up._

" _I'm...gonna go change." Layla said, noticing the damage on her clothes. She stumbled away towards her room._

" _Well? How'd she do?" Zeref asked, walking up to Yury._

" _She's strong. Stronger than we thought possible. She's not like her mother, but it's more than enough to suffice."_

" _No one can be like her mother."_

" _I know. But she's at least stronger than me, meaning that she's able to beat Acnologia without too much trouble."_

" _Good. Now all that's left is to find the last one. That's your responsibility. In the meantime, I'll take Layla over to Tartaros soon to teach her the revival spell necessary to bring back Silver. Everything's going according to plan."_

 **End.**


	10. Isabella and the Five Families

**Songs**

 **Layla's Anger: Incantation Parte C (Bleach OST)**

 **Isabella's Entrance: Kaguya Otsutsuki's Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Vs. Isabella: DDD (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Isabella's Castle: Dearly Beloved [Title Theme] (Kingdom Hearts II OST)**

 **Isabella' Explanation: Beginning of Peace (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Ashura and Indra (Naruto Shippuden OST) [This scene might go through a few soundtracks, it's a bit longer]**

 **Sasuke's Ninja Way (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Gods & Their Families: Kotoamatsukami (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Isabella's True Identity: Requiem of the Barians (Yugioh Zexal OST)**

 **Layla's Decision: The Truth is Revealed (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

"What do you two imbeciles...think you're doing…?" Erza sobbed. "Take a good look! Tell me what it is you see! An enemy?! A comrade?! I don't know what's going on here, but don't let this fleeting rage get the better of you! Never forget! The history that all of us share!"

"Listen closely…"

" _Listen well."_ They heard a voice.

'Gramps…' they both thought.

" _There are times when disagreements are unavoidable. It is a consequence of staying true to your own ideals and beliefs. Just remember...do not let it diminish your respect for the opponent you are clashing with. It is never acceptable to let it turn into hatred or a grudge since then violence will be the only possible outcome. That's what it means to be a guild...a family."_

"I...I truly...love you both. With every fiber of my being." Erza sobbed, hugging both of them. Natsu's demonic powers and Gray's Devil Slaying powers faded and disappeared.

"Gray-sama!" Gray spun his head around.

"Juvia is fine! Though she's seen better days…"

"Saying you're fine is a bit of a stretch...especially with those injuries." Carla advised.

"Looks like Natsu and Erza are here too…" Wendy said, helping Juvia walk.

"Juvia…" he fell to the ground.

"Gray-sama!" she ran over to him. She held him before collapsing along with him.

"Juvia!" Wendy called out.

"That's what you get for overexerting yourself." Carla sighed. Natsu fell down onto the ground before feeling a pair of arms wrap around his neck.

"You sure do know how to make a girl worry." Lucy whispered to him.

"Lucy…"

"Natsu!" Happy flew into Natsu, hugging him.

"Happy…" He passed out in her arms.

"Erza...that light just now…" Wendy began. Erza wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Erza?"

 **X**

'Damn. No matter what we try, we can't gain any ground...Just where is this...obscene strength of his coming from?' Jellal thought. He and the rest of Crime Sorciere were fighting against August.

'Be that as it may...I can still hear what you're going to do next…' Erik thought. He rushed towards him.

"You are not the only one capable of hearing others' actions." August said calmly, turning to him. He sent him flying by hitting him with a ray of light from his staff.

"In that case how 'bout a dose of blinding speed!" Sawyer sped towards him.

"So, so slow." August dodged his attack and gave him a swift chop to the back of the neck.

"Spiral Pain!" Macbeth sent a swirl of magic power around August. The earth began to entomb him.

"Yours is indeed a peculiar magic. But I am familiar with its nuances."

"He sent out a burst of wind that cut through Macbeth's attack, and sent the others flying.

'We're out of options here!' Jellal gritted his teeth.

"We should take Natsu back to see Porlyusica." Lucy said, hunched over from carrying Natsu on her back.

"Gray and Juvia could also stand a look over."

"Aye." The two exceeds said, carrying Gray and Juvia.

"! Everyone get down!" Erza yelled. A giant explosion ruptured the earth and pushed them all back.

"Coming at us out of the blue like that…" Happy said.

"Ah, it's been far, far too long Erza." Eileen said, stepping out of the smoke.

"An acquaintance?" Lucy asked.

"No clue. And you are?" Erza asked.

'She...kinda resembles Erza!' Wendy thought.

"I am you...and you are me."

 **X**

"Why that insufferable little…" Layla growled. She teleported away angrily.

"She's pretty mad that END didn't awaken." Silver said.

"I hope she doesn't let it consume her." Zeref said.

"Damn...it didn't work out as I wanted…I guess I'll just see how things play out for now." Isabella said, walking through a portal and appearing again on a cliff close to Eileen and Erza's group. Layla appeared next to Eileen, her eyes glowing red.

"...Are you okay?" Eileen asked, somewhat concerned.

"Those brats...suppressed him...E.N.D. is suppressed…" she mumbled. Blue flames and a black aura began surrounding her.

"Layla, calm down." Eileen said seriously. "You're losing control of your magic."

"Mom!" Lucy called out.

"E.N.D…" she snarled.

"Such a troublesome child." Isabella appeared in front of her suddenly, and cast a powerful sleep spell on her, making her collapse instantly. Everyone was shocked, and Eileen jumped back.

"You…You're…!" she said, startled. Isabella caught Layla's body and smiled.

"Oh, hello Eileen. Lucy." She looked behind her shoulder at her granddaughter.

"Wh-Who are you? You look just like Mom…" she muttered.

"I thought you were dead." Eileen said. "Layla said you died in a fire when she was 8."

"Yeah, about that. It seems that we Heartfilia have a bad habit of faking our deaths. I guess it runs in the family." she laughed softly, laying Layla's body down. She jumped down to where the others were.

"I may not be quite as upset as my darling little girl, but I'm still not happy that E.N.D. is gone."

"Darling little girl?" Lucy asked skeptically.

"You never knew, did you? You've probably never seen a picture of me either. Well, my name is Isabella. Isabella Heartfilia. I'm your grandmother, Layla's mother."

" _What do you know about my family?"_

" _I'm not telling. You can go ask Zeref about my relationship to that bitch Isabella." Dimaria told her._

"You...what? My...grandmother?" she stepped back, holding Natsu's body tightly.

"Surprised? I believe Layla told you that I died in a fire when she was 8 years old. As you can see, that's not true. I'm alive and well. Although I suppose it may not matter much."

"What do you mean, 'may not matter'?" Lucy asked.

"If I so choose, I can make all of you forget about this little meeting when I leave. It might be better if I did, actually."

"Otherwise?" Eileen asked, jumping down and readying her staff.

"Otherwise you'd all come after me and die."

"You think we'd all die?" she laughed.

"You'd be surprised. It wasn't that long ago that I defeated Acnologia without so much as a scratch on me."

"You...what?"

"Ah, not so confident any more, are we?"

"No way…" Lucy whispered.

"But if you still want to take your chances fighting against me, then by all means...be my guest." she said darkly. She smirked, and her eyes began to glow a deep royal purple.

Eileen tapped her staff and aimed it at Isabella. It glowed brightly before a blast of fire was sent towards her. Isabella snapped her fingers, and suddenly both Eileen and the attack were frozen.

"W-What…? What did you do…?"

"I stopped your movement." She pointed towards the fire, and a wave of water fired, extinguishing Eileen's attack.

"You see, my powers are limitless." she smiled, looking up at the sky. "I have control over all aspects of this world. If I so choose, I can make you explode in an instant so that only a pool of your blood remains. Observe." She ignited her index finger with purple magic power, and drew a circle with it, then pointed in the center. A few seconds later, an exact copy of Eileen appeared next to her. Isabella then snapped her fingers, and the clone literally exploded, sending blood flying everywhere, with some of it splattering on Isabella's face. She remained emotionless. Lucy screamed as some of it got on her.

"See what I mean?" she asked indifferently. "In any case, I'll be going now. And taking her with me." She gestured to Layla.

"Goodbye, dear." Isabella smiled at Lucy. She walked over and touched Layla's back, turning her into chaos particles and sending them back to her castle. Isabella also turned into particles and disappeared.

 **X**

"...Mm...Huh?" Layla muttered groggily. She opened up her eyes slowly, before noticing that she wasn't in her normal room at the Vistarion Palace. She looked around. Her room was one fit for royalty. She was lying on a Queen Sized bed with a dark blue color scheme. There was a piano, bookshelf, desk, and full bathroom. It was like her regular room, but bigger and with more space. She sat up, and noticed she was wearing a simple sleeping shirt and her undergarments.

"Ugh...What happened?" she rubbed her forehead, as she had a slight headache. She stood up and went into the bathroom. After taking a shower, she looked through the closet and found the clothes she was wearing yesterday, along with a few other outfits. She chose a dark blue gown with a same color cape and walked through the halls of the castle. She decided to leave her hair down.

"What is this place?" She didn't recognize it at all. Finally, after circling through a few different corridors, she found herself in a large room where a giant circular red sofa was. There was one person sitting on it. She had long black curled hair and wore a black silk gown. She had purple eye shadow and other makeup on, and was currently painting her nails black.

"Lady Nyx?" Layla asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh! Look who's awake." she smiled.

"Awake? How long was I out?"

"Only about a day, but no time has passed in your dimension."

"My...dimension? Where are we?" Nyx put her nail polish down and examined her new midnight black nails.

"Time here operates differently than in Earthland. One day there is 24 days here. Time is 24 times faster here."

"That still doesn't answer my question. Where are we?" She crossed her arms impatiently.

"We're at Isabella's castle. This place is the embodiment of chaos."

"Isabella's…?"

"Surprised?" asked a warm voice. Layla looked up at the top of the stairs where Isabella sat. She stood up and walked down.

"M-Mother…? How is this possible?"

"Don't you think Lucy thought the same thing when she discovered that you were still alive?"

"...Point taken. But I gave her an explanation, so following that pattern, I deserve one from you."

"...Well, alright. I suppose it's only fair. Open Presentation." After she said that, the room turned dark by her command. A screen projected in front of them. It had the 5 Primordial Gods on it. Isabella extended her hand towards the screen.

"As you know, you five: Silver, Eileen, Zeref, Yury, and yourself; are all descendants of these five and have been gifted with their powers. But, you are not the first ones. There have been others before you."

"I know that much."

"Good. But these gods have always stuck behind one specific family each. They are not to interfere with the others. This was by my own command."

"Your command…?"

"Well, not me personally, but...let me continue. I promise I'll explain. When the gods on Mt. Olympus had settled all of their quarrels and Zeus took the throne, all was well with humankind. But only for a time. People began to figure out how to cast and study magic. Before long, about 10% of the world's population were considered mages. They formed guilds. But often, they would argue and break out into fights over who's stronger. They would even fight as a guild, and whichever lost, would be completely destroyed and no longer had the right to call themselves mages. This practice continued, until Zeus decided to do something about it. He went to speak to Chaos, the Primordial Void, and Creator of All Things. He asked that every few centuries, the Primordial Gods pick a few special children with exceptional magical power to be granted the powers that those gods have, in order to keep the other mages in check and to stop any wars from happening. Chaos accepted and made it so that 5 Primordial Gods and Goddesses would bestow their powers upon these privileged children in five powerful magic families. Care to guess who?"

"No way…."

"That's right. Uranus, Ruler of the Heavens, was assigned to the Fullbuster family. Gaia, Goddess of the Earth, was assigned to the Belserions. Erebus, Lord of Darkness, was assigned to the Dragneels. Aether, King of the Light and Upper Atmosphere, was assigned to the Dreyars. And Nyx, unparalleled Queen of the Night, was assigned to our family, the Heartfilias." Layla remained shocked for a few moments, but then regained her composure.

"Not all that surprising?"

"No. It's something you said to me when I was little. That before I mastered my power, you had already met with Nyx multiple times, as did your own mother. Perhaps it would make sense for you to know, but for my grandmother to speak to her before I was even born seems a little excessive. In addition, you knew quite a lot about our powers and the so called 'Prophecy' surrounding us, despite the fact that you yourself were not one of the chosen ones. Silver and I were from the same town, and when he revealed to me that he was also one of the five, I started going over to his house more often. His father would often tell us stories about mythology. And that's when I became convinced that these gods were passed down through the family, not on a whim for who's next in line." Isabella remained still for a few seconds before smiling.

"What a smart girl you are. Beautiful and strong. You grew up just as I had hoped." Layla remained indifferent to the comment.

"But…."

"..."

"I haven't exactly told you everything yet. While it is true that the parents usually knew about the chosen ones, such as Silver's father, most gods don't talk to a third generation of the family. There is a reason why my mother Victoria was in contact with them."

"And that reason is…?" At this point, Nyx stood up and walked over, picking up where Isabella left off.

"Victoria was told that her child would be very very special. Different even from the 5 gods. As you already know, the one rule always followed by the 5 of us is that we cannot pick a new candidate until all 5 of the current reincarnations have passed away. Thus, when Zeref was picked, we were not expecting him to become immortal. Doing so meant that Erebus could not pick another candidate ever again, unless E.N.D. was revived and carried out his mission. Aether ran into the same problem when Yury joined Alvarez 300 years later and achieved the same state of immortality. Another 45 years later, Silver was born, and a few years after that, you and Eileen. Thus everyone was in place once again. However, all five of you were born with a certain amount of evil and darkness in your hearts. Chaos had predicted that you would all join together and wage a war of conquest on the world. Because of the fact that Zeref and Yury were already building Alvarez up before the 3 of you were even born, it seemed like the world was already in danger. Only two of the reincarnations existed, and they were both leading the war effort. Thus, as a precaution to stop them, Chaos decided to give up all of his powers and immortality to that one young girl of Victoria's who had a certain special magic power within her. It was not evil, nor was it good. It was a mixture of both: it was chaotic. And thus, he ceased to exist, and his will was carried out through your mother, Isabella Heartfilia."

Layla was sweating, trying to process all of the information.

"That is the reason why she knows so much about the prophecy. Even now, she has the power to change how the war could go with the snap of her fingers. There has never been a stronger mage than she, nor will there ever be anyone close to her caliber again."

 **X**

Rogue and Minerva stood over the defeated bodies of Wahl Icht and Bradman.

"They're vanishing."

"It seems we've done it. They were dead from the very start. It's unclear whether it was we who defeated them, or their conjurer was defeated first, but...either way it's our victory." Minerva sighed.

"At any rate, what was that blinding light right now?"

"Fairy Law. Makarov's mightiest spell. It is a magic which destroys only those whom the caster perceives as enemies. It's quite fortunate that we made amends with Fairy Tail, wouldn't you say?"

"Does that mean all the enemies have been vanquished?"

"No...as one would expect, eliminating them all with a single spell is wishful thinking. Even so, it's safe to say that it considerably whittled down their forces."

"Be that as it may...our side's exhaustion is a big cause for concern."

Over on a different cliff, Lector and Frosch stood near Yukino and Sorano.

"All of the enemies in front of us were suddenly defeated in one fell swoop!"

"Fro thinks so too!"

"I haven't a clue whose magic that was, but it certainly bailed us out, didn't it sister?"

"How many times must I repeat myself...I'm not your sister, got it?"

"I must say, that was quite the gaudy little spell…" said a third voice.

"Who the-?!" They looked up at the top of the plateau they were standing at.

"Thanks to that, our forces have been considerably dwindled...quite troublesome indeed. And so it falls upon me to return the favor, if only a bit. I simply wouldn't be able to face my father otherwise." A bright white light began to shine behind Rahkeid.

"He's so...divine!"

"Fro thinks so, too!"

"He's another one of the twelve! I caught a glance of him up north!"

"Oh…? If he thinks he can take on the two of us at the same time, he has another thing coming."

"I said I'd be returning the favor, did I not? That is to say...I shall take on all those who dared oppose us." He formed more white light in his hands and then spread them apart, beginning to change its shape and shooting up into the air. The white became much brighter than before, and blinded everyone, scattering across the whole battlefield.

"Let their pure white souls ascend to the free heavens." The light engulfed Sorano.

"Sister! Sister please, hold on!"

"Mmm...this...my body is…" Minerva said, her body also engulfed.

"Madame!"

"Do not touch me!"

"It's no use…" she looked at Rogue. The magic made her feel good but also hurt at the same time.

"What?! Just what is happening-ah…urgh!" Rogue was hit by it too.

Alzack, Bisca, Macao, Max, Wakaba, Laki and Laxus were all affected. Laxus fell down onto one knee.

"Laxus!" Mavis called out.

'What is the meaning of this?! What sort of magic is it?! Only the adults are falling one after another…No, that's not i! What exactly is this magic?!' And then, without warning, Mavis was struck by it too.

"Aaah….ah! My body...feels so hot...this can't be...ah! I cannot resist it…"

"Oooooohhhhhh!" Gildarts fell down.

"Gildarts! What's gotten into you all of a sudden?! Snap out of it!" Cana asked. He gave her a happy smile.

"That's not the kind of expression I want to see from you when we're neck deep in a war! You're grossing me out!" she yelled, punching him.

"But it feels so good…"

"Rahkeid. Using such magics makes for a dull battle…" August looked off into the distance, now finished with Crime Sorciere.

"Now then. Where were we? Ah, yes. I am you. And you are me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Hmhm…! Mmf...this is...It must be Rahkeid…"

"! Now's your chance! Take Natsu and Gray to safety!" Erza told the others.

"We're on it!"

"What are you planning on doing?!" Carla called out.

"I must confirm the true meaning of this woman's words!" Eileen gritted her teeth and created a wave of fire that was sent towards Erza, but then dispersed by Wendy.

"I'll lend you a hand!"

"Enchantment magic?! To think...Rahkeid's magic wouldn't be effective on either one of you...You accursed brats!"

"...Rahkeid, cease this at once."

"!" Raheid heard Zeref's voice through his head.

'Our allies are suffering harm from your magic as well.'

"Oh my...please pardon my impetuous actions." He deactivated his spell.

"What was that magic just now?!" Lector asked, standing next to an exhausted Sorano.

"Why was sister the only one affected…?"

"My magic is 'Pleasure'. It is impossible for those who have already tasted the forbidden fruit of pleasure to escape from my magic. I wonder...are you aware of exactly what happens to humans who are granted pleasure over and over and over again?"

"Open, Gate of the Twin Fish!"

"It's simple really...they die." Yukino became ensnared by the same white light as before, and once again, it both harmed and made her somewhat aroused.

"Knowledge is to ignorance as black is to white. May you come to know both pleasure and agony." Lector and Frosch were caught in the trap as well.

"What's happening...this feels bad...wait...on second thought, it feels really good!"

"Fro too~!"

"Lord Lector! Lord Frosch! Come to your senses!" As the pain became unbearable, the tentacles of light were severed, making Yukino fall to the ground.

"White? Light? Granting pleasure?" It's quite hard to fathom that you are a comrade of the Black Wizard."

"Lady Kagura!"

"I am much more than his comrade...Zeref is my father."

 **X**

Layla lied in her bed in her new room, thinking about what her mother told her.

" _It's not as if I was aware of these powers all my life. I might have been born with them, but my mother never said much about it. It wasn't until that fateful night that those drunk mages accidentally set fire to our house that I became aware of them. That night, I told you to run. And I thought that I would burn to death along with your father. But I was spared. My powers protected me from any external damage, and when I woke up the next day, I was completely fine. It was then that Nyx invited me here and told me everything about my powers, but most importantly, the fact that I was immortal."_

" _You know, Zeref was originally going to invade Ishgar much earlier than now. He, Yury, and August could have taken over this continent all by themselves. But once they became aware of your mother's presence and purpose, they feared fighting against her, and so they delayed their invasion until now, when they had all 5 of you assembled. Zeref figured that if all five of you teamed up against her, you'd win, and that she wouldn't be that much of a problem."_

" _He's sadly mistaken." Isabella said plainly. "...Well, Layla? What are you going to do?"_

" _...I'm not sure yet. I need time to think. Can I...stay here for the time being?"_

" _Of course."_

"..."

" _There will never be any secrets between us, I promise."_

"Then what do call this…?" she mumbled to herself. "Zeref…" She stood up and walked back into the throne room, where the others were.

"...Well? Have you made a decision?" Isabella asked, her hand resting under her chin.

"...I've decided….to join you."

"Excellent choice." she smiled. "How did you come to this decision?"

"You said your purpose was to stop this war, and make sure the five of us don't all become evil, essentially. Although that's already happened. So part of it is that you need some help."

"But the other part…?" she wasn't smiling anymore.

"Zeref and Yury told me that they recruited me because they couldn't complete the invasion without me. But if they planned to do it before I was even born, then they lied to me. And they also lied to me about you. They said they never knew or met you."

"Hm. Very well. Then I have an assignment for you."

"And what would that be?"

"Recruit Acnologia over to our side, and steal E.N.D.'s book."

"...Of course. It will be done, Mother."

 **End.**


	11. Rahkeid

**Anyone else feel like Mavis being Rahkeid's mother doesn't really make sense? She only kissed Zeref before she died, and then existed as a ghost for 100 years. According to August, he is made of Light, so I guess he was created instead of born the normal way? Oh well. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Layla is Allied with Isabella: On the Precipice of Defeat (Bleach OST)**

 **7 Enemies: Fairy Law (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **White Shadow Dragon: Lightning Flame Dragon Roaring (Fairy Tail OST)**

August was looking down on all of Jellal's guild.

"Do you mean to tell me...that we, Crime Sorciere, have been single-handedly annihilated…?" Jellal murmured. "This man…" he started to get up, before August stomped his head back onto the ground.

"You were once a devout believer in His Majesty, were you not? It was foolish of you to choose a path which would pit you against him…" Jellal clenched his fists.

"The light...I was finally able to obtain it. The brilliant light in my heart which illuminates the darkness…"

'Erza…'

"And that light is your justice? While darkness is your transgression? How utterly shallow. His Majesty reared a single son. He was a child born with a mighty power of light at his disposal."

'Zeref...had a child?!'

"However...that child never knew what it was to be loved by someone. Before long, he began to waver around the space between light and darkness...and shortly thereafter, reached a state of mind devoid of anything. There is no good or evil in light, or in darkness. It does not exist. If there is true justice in this world, it may well lie in love, and naught else…" August stated, walking away from them.

'Stand...rise to your feet! In order to protect Erza, I must…!'

 **X**

"Zeref's son, you say?"

"My name is Rahkeid Dragneel. The son of Zeref Dragneel."

"Dragneel?! That's…" Yukino said, shocked.

"He's got the same last name as Natsu!" Lector finished her thought.

"Were you not aware? Natsu is my father's younger brother. I suppose that would make him my uncle."

"Lord Natsu is…?!"

"I was very much looking forward to finally meeting him in the war today...How could I not?" He smirked. "It seems my father holds him much more dear than I, after all. And that is something that cannot be forgiven...wouldn't you agree?" He sent out numerous blades of light towards them. Kagura dodged and slashed through all of them.

"How long do you plan on lecturing us from your high perch? Come down and face me!" She yelled, slashing his plateau clean off the ground. Rahkeid stood up and clapped his hands. The white tentacles of light appeared again and lunged towards her.

"Lady Kagura!" Rahkeid jumped down onto the ground.

"I shall introduce you to the sweet nectar of pleasure as well…" The tentacles ensnared her.

"Humans cannot possibly disobey their natural instincts."

"Lady Kagura, you must resist!" Kagura began to cry out in pain and pleasure before biting her tongue and regaining her senses. She slashed through all the tentacles, surprising Rahkeid.

'She actually bit her own tongue?! By inflicting great pain upon herself, she was able to liberate herself from the pleasure?!' Kagura rushed up to him, preparing to draw her sword.

"What a vulgar magic you wield."

"Such speed…"

"No...it seems my blade of resentment has not wavered a bit. Judgement!" A blast of light appeared where her sword struck. When the smoke cleared, Rahkeid had blocked it with two fingers.

"You stopped my sword with your bare hands…?!"

"It would appear you lot have made a horrible miscalculation after managing to defeat several of the twelve." He swiped his fingers past each other in a cross formation.

"August, Eileen, and I...We are...how should i put this...special exceptions." Kagura gritted her teeth and rushed towards him.

"Such a delightful expression. It is the face of one who has completely abandoned hope...knowing they cannot possibly defeat the enemy before them. Once again, her sword was blocked with two fingers. With his other hand, he sliced a third of her body in half.

"LADY KAGURA!"

"Fear not. Your pain, your suffering...before long, it will all transform into pure pleasure. A short while ago, you referred to my magic as 'vulgar', did you not? That might very well be the case, so to speak. However, this can also be called 'love.' I shall give you a peaceful death...one without even a hint of anguish. Let her pure white soul ascend to the free heavens." She fell over, bleeding profusely.

"LADY KAGURA!"

"How wonderful...I will dye your very despair in pure pleasure."

"No! AHHHHHHH!" She was caught by the white tendrils again.

"Now...rise to the heavens...and your death."

"His Majesty's child...If he even were to be defeated, it could only be by...the hands of his mother." August said to himself.

 **X**

"Gray and Juvia are going to be alright despite their severe external injuries…" Porlyusica told Lucy and the others, who were back where Dimaria was.

"Not to worry; I already shrank all his wounds."

"Thank you, Brandish."

"In Juvia's case, we have Wendy to thank."

"But the real problem here is Natsu, isn't it?" Carla asked.

"That mass inside his body...it's now become impossible for me to alter it with my magic. In other words, it is a powerful 'something' which has completely transcended my magic power."

"It's ability to move even while time was suspended...that pure, unbridled aggression with its killing intent laid bare...the likes of this...It is beyond my abilities as well. There's absolutely nothing I can do to help."

"That thing is a demon...there's no other way I could possibly describe it." Dimaria mumbled.

"You're wrong! Natsu is…"

"And what exactly do you know about him?"

"I sure know a lot more about him than the likes of you ever could!"

"No...people don't know as much about those around them as they think. Even the ones you considered to be precious friends and comrades have a hidden side to them. Isn't that right, Randi? You are the living embodiment of this idea, girl. You met Isabella, didn't you? You know nothing of even your own family and yet you claim you know your friends more than I."

"...It may be true that Natsu is violent, rough around the edges and generally uncooperative, but...he's as straightforward and honest as they come. Natsu has no hidden sides...I believe that in my heart of hearts."

"She's totally head over heels for him." Ever whispered into Brandish's ear.

"Ah, that explains it."

"That's not what I was getting at!" Lucy protested. "Natsu was the impetus who brought about my joining Fairy Tail, you know...and that's exactly why…" She was cut off when Natsu's body began to emit smoke.

"This is surely coming from that mass within his body…"

"Hey, Natsu…! He's so cold...Natsu! Please! Open your eyes!"

 **X**

"Natsu…"

"...What is this place…?" Natsu asked himself. There was only whiteness around him. "Hm? Is somebody there?"

"It's me, Natsu."

"Zeref!"

"Don't get any funny ideas. This is the inside of your heart. And as such, I have no physical form here." Natsu tried to punch him, but passed right through him.

"Huh? The inside of my heart?"

"Indeed...At the very least, if only while we're in here together, I have no problem if you wish to address me as 'big brother.'"

"Yeah right…"

"As much as it pains me to say this...you are going to die soon. And it's for that very reason that I've come here now, in your last moments, to fill in the gaps in your lost memories."

"Huh?"

"I'm referring to your memories prior to your waking up in X777."

"I was together with Igneel!"

"I'm talking before...even earlier than that." Zeref created a vision that showed an old fashioned town.

"We lived in a small, quaint village. Those two are our mother and father." Natsu saw him and Zeref as kids sitting at a table while a young lady with dark brown hair tied up and a muscular man with short spiked hair sat next to them. They kind of resembled Cana and Sting.

"However, one day...the village was attacked by a dragon, and completely annihilated. Father, along with mother...and you. On this day, all three of you lost your lives. But even so...I tirelessly continued my research, and finally, I was able to resurrect you...as my very last demon...E.N.D. Ah. I believe I already spoke to you earlier about the particulars of what occurred around this time. And so, I entrusted you to Igneel. But, from that point on...your memories are likely vague and cloudy. Side effects of the Dragon Soul Ceremony, I'd say. Back then, you had already met Gajeel and the rest of the slayers. You and Gajeel were a couple of rascals...always at each others' throats. And Wendy, who would come to try and break things up, would always burst into tears. As for Sting and Rogue, who were around the same age as Wendy, they idolized the two of you as their adopted older brothers."

"Several times a year...when our dragon parents would gather for their meetings, we'd all be seated together." a new voice said. Natsu turned around.

"Sting!"

"...Or so I'd like to say, but in reality, both you and I have no such memories of those events."

"Where did Zeref-"

"This is the inside of your heart, ain't that right Natsu? Your 'consciousness' erased Zeref's presence. That's all there is to it."

"You completely lost me."

"C'mon, follow me. You'll surely arrive at your answer."

"Answer?"

"The true identity of what it is that lurks inside your body."

 **X**

Back in real life, the real Sting was continuing to head towards the battlefield.

"Thanks to Freed, I somehow managed to make it this far, but...Lector...Rogue...Everyone...just where the hell are you?! This smell...it's…"

"Yukino…" Kagura gasped. Rahkeid's power was destroying her.

'My mind...has gone completely blank…'

"If...if you're out there...please...you're our last hope...Sting!" Lector cried. Just then, Sting jumped over the hill and kicked Rahkeid, who blocked the attack.

"I can't help but be fashionably late!"

"Master Sting…" Yukino said happily.

"Looks like you really did quite the number on my guildmates in my absence!"

"My, my...yet another poor, misguided fool who dares stand against me…" Sting punched Rahkeid back.

"Did you honestly expect such a meager attack to have any effect?" Rahkeid clapped his hands together, and his white light began surrounding Sting.

"Master Sting! That attack is…!" Sting simply began eating it.

"!"

"The hell is this stuff...tastes kinda funny...though, actually...it's making me feel kinda good! Nothing white is gonna work on me. That's one of the perks that comes with being the Light Dragon Slayer! Oh, I can tell you and I won't be getting along...the thing is, your stench reminds me of my good old friend Natsu." he said angrily, glaring at Rahkeid.

 **X**

Layla appeared in Zeref's room in the Vistarion Palace. She stared at the large king size royal bed where she and Zeref first slept together. She searched around his desk for a journal or diary of some kind. She didn't really expect him to have one, but on the off chance that she's lucky, she wanted to present it to him as proof that he knew about her mother.

"What are you doing?" she heard a voice ask. She glanced behind her.

"..." She didn't say anything.

"Layla, I asked you a question." Again, she remained silent.

"Answer me." HIs magic power began to surround him.

"Don't get so upset, Silver." She turned back around and kept flipping through Zeref's journal. "Besides, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the guild with the others?"

"Yes, but I sensed your magic power disappear completely for a short time. Then you finally reappear here. I just wanted to know what was going on and if you were okay."

"I'm...fine."

"You don't sound fine. Remember, you can tell me anything."

"...I feel betrayed. By Zeref and Yury. They didn't tell me that my mother is still alive." 

"Isabella?" 

"Yes...I met her. She leads the five gods we serve."

"Leads them?"

"Yes. She's...a combination between herself and Chaos."

"I see...and you have decided to join her because you feel hers is a more noble cause than ours?"

"...Yes."

"I normally agree with you on these kinds of things, but not this time. Layla, you dedicated yourself to Alvarez for 30 years now. I don't believe that you suddenly left us and joined Isabella simply because of what she told you. How do you know she's not lying?"

"I couldn't sense any fluctuations in her magic power when she was telling me about herself. I don't think she was lying."

"I'm sorry. But I can't support you this time. Even if we have to fight each other eventually...then so be it. I'll bring you back."

"Go ahead and try."

"..." Silver created a portal and left. Layla continued to look through Zeref's journal, and tied her hair back in a single long ponytail.

 **X**

"Who the hell are you? And why do you reek of the same stench as Natsu?" Sting asked.

"That guy has the last name Dragneel...same as Natsu!" Lector said.

"To be more precise, Lord Natsu is Zeref's younger brother, and the man standing before you is Zeref's son…" Yukino clarified.

"Huh? Sounds complicated."

"Fro thinks so, too!"

"No...even if all that is true, it's still strange that he's got the exact same smell on him as Natsu. If he smelled like Zeref, that'd make sense. But in reality, Natsu and Zeref both have completely different smells. You see, people's smells...they should be different between brothers...between parents and even among their children. And yet here we are, with this guy smelling exactly like Natsu."

"That is because, in a sense, Natsu is also Zeref's child." Rahkeid said, clapping his hands together and sending beams of light towards Sting. But the Dragon Slayer just devoured all of them.

"I already told you, didn't I? Light and anything else that's white ain't gonna work on me! Holy Ray!" Sting yelled, compressing a ball of light in his palms and releasing it with a flurry of light beams. It shattered the ground beneath him and Sting rushed up to him, intending to attack him again.

"Holy Nova!" Sting slammed his fist into Rahkeid, who was sent flying back.

"Guah!" He stopped when he hit a boulder.

"A rather troublesome opponent indeed. However...Soul of the Forbidden Meal!" Rahkeid swiped his two fingers behind him, extracting all of the light from Sting's stomach.

"You cannot possibly endure this sensation of hunger."

"Ah...I can barely...move a muscle…" Sting grabbed his stomach in pain. Rahkeid took the giant cross off his back and tossed it towards Sting, slamming into him and knocking him far back against the ground.

"Sting!" Lector cried out.

"Lector…! Lector…?"

"Sting?"

"You sure look tasty…" he started drooling and the color drained from his eyes. He started walking towards him.

"Sting, snap out of it!"

"Whatever is the matter, Master Sting?" Yukino asked, now looking like a popsicle.

"Hey...quit giving me those strange looks…" Kagura said, looking like dumplings.

"Please, eat to your heart's content." Rahkeid smirked.

"Sting! Cut that out, it's me! Your old pal Lector!" Sting was now starting to bite him.

"No, you're meat! Delicious meat!"

"Open your eyes!" Kagura yelled. But soon she felt someone starting to bite her shoulder. "Yukino!"

"I'm...hungry...so very hungry…"

"Yuki...no…" They both got the same look in their eyes and began trying to eat each other.

"The world of mortals...is full of nothing but wants and desires. Now perish, as you devour one another to death." Even Frosch was getting hungry.

"Fro's really hungry too, but Fro always eats his meals together with Rogue, so he'll be patient."

Suddenly, Sting came to his senses.

"I'm starving as well, but...if it's you, Sting, then I…"

"Sorry about this, Lector!" Sting punched his head, knocking him out. "Yukino, Kagura, sorry to you too! And you, Frosch!" Sting took all of them down.

"I had no choice but to do that...to keep all of you from falling victim to your hunger!"

"Oh? In that case, what are you planning on doing about your own hunger?"

"I'll make you my main course, bastard!" Sting yelled, rushing towards him. He punched towards Rahkeid, but the light mage simply side stepped and knocked Sting to the ground by chopping his neck.

"Look at you...so hungry that you can't muster up any power…"

"Even so…" He stood up and readied another punch. Rahkeid stopped him but slamming a beam of light into his side.

"How utterly futile."

"I'm Sabertooth's Master!"

"Sabertooth? Never heard of it." Rahkeid's cross came crashing down and impaled Sting through his shoulder.

"You're not even a member of Fairy Tail, so I would ask you to not intrude...if you know what's good for you."

"The whole reason I'm intruding...is for Fairy Tail's sake! For the sake of the guild that made me...made us see the light...but above all else…" He pulled the cross out and tossed it to the side.

"IT'S FOR NATSU'S SAKE, DAMN IT!"

"In that case, there is no cause for concern. Natsu's soul will soon be set free as well. Because I've long since decided that I shall be the one to kill him." But just then, Rogue appeared, swapping with Yukino's body.

"Rogue?! This must be the Mistress' territory!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm running on empty here too. I'm here as a special delivery from the Mistress. Now, eat me!"

"Rogue…"

"You're hungry, aren't you? Eat it...all of my remaining magic!" Rogue sent his shadow magic towards him.

"You know I can't just eat magic of a different property! Grgh, guess I've got no choice!" Sting started devouring it.

"All humans have three primal desires: Sexual desire...Hunger...and the desire for Slumber. So the final desire which I shall bestow...is that of sleep. However, the sleep that I grant is, unfortunately, eternal."

"Quit running your mouth! I can't stand that damn smell of yours!"

"And I cannot stand the fact that a pathetic weakling like you is still drawing breath."

"Rogue! Lend me your strength!" Sting's body began turning black.

"Fight on...White Shadow Dragon."

"I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Sting yelled.

"Allow me to introduce you to...the infallible magic of desire: 'R.I.P.'"

 **X**

"What was that back there?" Lucy asked. "Mom wasn't herself…"

"Your mother has a certain psychological condition." a voice said. Everyone turned around quickly to see Silver standing there. They all went on guard.

"Calm down, I'm not here to fight. Besides, none of you would stand a chance against me."

"Silver…" Porlyusica lowered her hands.

"Hello again. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

"Lord Silver, what are you doing here?" Brandish asked respectfully. Dimaria remained silent.

"I'm here to explain a few things." He sat down in a nearby chair.

"Explain what? Why are you helping us?" Lucy asked.

"Fairy Tail was once my guild too. There's two things I think you deserve to know. The first is about your mother's little anger issues."

"Anger issues?" Lucy asked. She didn't like where this was going.

"Right. I'm sure you know this well, but she's a very friendly and loving person most of the time. In fact, she's almost never angry, and there's not much that can make her mad. Because of this, she's unintentionally repressed her emotion of anger deep inside of her mind. But on the off chance that something actually does make her angry…"

"That anger pours out and overtakes her? Like what we saw?" Lucy asked, frightened.

"That's right. What you saw was simply the beginning stages of it. Actually, one of her spells...well, when she uses it, it increases her bloodlust exponentially. She gets a thirst for battle that isn't quenched unless someone actually overpowers her form and makes her use something stronger."

"What kind of spell is it?" Lucy asked.

"It's a Takeover Spell. Actually, it's like Mira's, but a much stronger form of it. It's a Satan Soul spell: Lucifer."

"Mom uses Satan Soul?"

"Yes, and like I said, when she gets angry, the dark powers of her Lucifer form can overtake her personality, and make her angry and reckless."

"How do you know all this?" Brandish asked. "I've been part of Alvarez for a long time, but I know almost nothing of her powers, save that she was a Celestial Mage."

"I've been friends with her since childhood. In fact, we lived in the same town, and I would often visit her, and she would visit me. We're the same, after all. She always told me that I was her best friend, because she could relate to me."

"You mean you're both Gods?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, so you know."

"Yes. We found out from Gildarts."

"Ah. That would explain things."

"What...what was the second thing you wanted to tell me?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. This part is also directed at you, Dimaria." He looked over at her. She raised her head slightly.

"Layla has...discovered that her mother is still alive." Dimaria's eyes widened.

"I assume you saw that Isabella took her away with her? Well, the two of them met, and Layla has decided to leave Alvarez."

"That's great! She's back to our side then?!" Lucy asked excitedly.

"No. Actually, it's worse than that. She's joined up with her mother, as a third party."

"She joined her?!" Dimaria asked angrily.

"Yes, and I'm sure you know that that spells trouble. The two of them together...they could crush us all. If Isabella wishes it, everyone in Fairy Tail could be dead in an instant. She is not someone you want to mess with."

"What exactly...are her powers?" Lucy asked.

"She's in control of everything." Dimaria said. Everyone looked to her. "She's Chaos. She controls every aspect of this world. It may be hard to understand, but when you fight her, you'll get it. Although you'll never want to fight her. Layla's not stupid, she'd be slaughtered if she fought against her."

"Right. But in any case, you won't have to worry about Isabella right now. I doubt she'll make any moves at this point in the war. It's too early for her. However, be wary of Layla. She's more distant than she used to be. And actually, she's against both sides now. I don't think she'd have a problem killing any of you." Silver stood up and started walking up the stairs.

"I'll be waiting for you. I have a feeling I'll have to join the fight soon." He left.

"What exactly is your relationship to my family?" Lucy asked Dimaria curiously.

"I am also a god. I am descended from Chronos, the God of Time. At one point, your grandmother was looking for an assistant to help her. I was recommended for the task, so she came to visit my village to see me for herself. My mother put every effort into preparing me for the job, and hoped that I would be accepted. But as you can see, I wasn't. Isabella didn't want me. Because of the denial, my village was shunned by other various gods. We were laughingstock because they thought I wasn't chosen because I wasn't good enough. Later on, my mother sent me to Vistarion to join Alvarez and serve the Emperor, another god like me. Although when I joined, I discovered that the Empire was run by two people, an Emperor and an Empress. That would be Zeref and your mother, Layla. At first, I thought she was Isabella, and tried to attack her for picking Zeref as an assistant instead of me. But she destroyed me without even moving."

"Without moving?" Brandish asked.

"That's right. She stood still during the whole fight and still managed to defeat me. She clarified who she was to me and said that I would never match up to her or her mother." Dimaria growled.

"Hmph. I did the same when I joined, discovering that she was the leader, but once again I was defeated by her, and it cost her no effort whatsoever."

"It makes me wonder…" Lucy said.

"What?" Brandish asked.

"Since discovering that my mother is still alive, I've heard nothing but information about how strong she is. If she really is able to singlehandedly control the entire Alvarez Empire and all of you Spriggan 12, then how are we ever going to beat her?" Lucy asked.

"We're not." Dimaria said.

"Huh?"

"I know you members of Fairy Tail are used to defeating opponents by trying harder and protecting each other and all that, but that won't work this time. There are 5 members of the Spriggan 12 left, the 5 Gods of Alakatasia, and then Isabella's forces. Two of the Spriggans, Jacob and Ajeel, you've defeated before, so you'll probably be able to do it again. But then there are the other three: Rahkeid and August are far stronger than any of the rest of us. Above them are the five: Silver, Eileen, who's the strongest member of the Spriggans, Zeref himself, Yury, and then Layla. Apart from being incredibly powerful in their own rights, they also have a God Soul on top of that. And above them are the actual five gods: Uranus, Gaia, Erebus, Aether, and Nyx. They all serve Isabella, who is unbeatable. Now you see why Brandish warned you against fighting us. It was a foolish choice."

 **X**

Silver walked back into Fairy Tail and took his place behind the bar counter.

"Did you find her?" Zeref asked.

"...Yes. She's in the palace, in Vistarion."

"What's she doing there? The place is practically empty at this point." 

"She's in your room."

"My room?"

"Zeref...she knows about Isabella."

"...What?"

"That magic power we sensed. It was Isabella after all. She's still alive."

"Damn it. So then she's actually planning to intervene in this war after all…"

"So you did know about her."

"Yes. She met with Yury and I at one point about 30 years ago. She said that she will always be watching us."

"Watching us? How come?"

"Yury and I intended to invade Ishgar much earlier. But when we discovered that her purpose was to stop us from doing that, and the abilities that she had, we called off the invasion until we had all 5 of us assembled. I knew we'd have to face her sooner or later, and figured we'd have a better chance at fighting her with all of us."

"Lucky for you that one of the gods was her daughter?"

"Yes and no. I always wondered if she would end up joining Isabella eventually. I had hoped that she wouldn't, but I guess that's changed."

"...I think it's time I start heading towards Mavis. Eileen is fighting Erza now, after all." Yury said, walking out of the guild and beginning to head down the mountain.

 **X**

"I've been chasing behind Natsu as long as I can remember. And right now, you're in the way, you bastard!"

"With this very hand, I will purify Natsu's soul once and for all. Someone as weak and insignificant as you hardly warrants my time or energies."

"Then have a taste! Of mine and Rogue's combined power of the spirit of Sabertooth!" Sting rushed towards him and punched him across the face. Rahkeid recovered quickly and tried to overcome Sting with more of his own magic, but the rays of light disappeared.

"They vanish…!"

"Your white magic is offset by Sting's own power...and…" Rogue said.

"Rogue's shadows will annihilate you!" Sting yelled, knocking Rahkeid back further. "And if I combine our two powers together…!" He created an explosive wave of light and shadow that injured Rahkeid.

"Combine as many people's powers as you'd like; it matters not. You cannot possibly resist the Final Desire. The Eternal Sleep of Death: R.I.P.!" Rahkeid's white magic power exploded around him. Sting and Rogue were startled, and suddenly became very sleepy.

"I'm being overcome...by drowsiness…" Rogue muttered, trying to keep his eyes open.

"The moment you close your eyes...will be your very last."

"Damn it! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Sting continuously punched himself to stay awake.

"Humans cannot possibly defy their desires. Not even Acnologia can. And consequently, I am the ultimate mage who can seize victory against Acnologia himself."

"Rogue…"

"Sting…! Enter the shadow…If you're within the shadows, all of your senses will be sharpened. It should dispel your drowsiness, if only for a moment."

"I appreciate the last minute advice, but...how the hell do I do that?"

"Feel the gravity...to the point that you can feel your feet and the ground becoming one…"

"Gravity...gravity!"

"If it's gravity you seek, let me be of assistance...I shall sink you into the ground by force!" Kagura slammed her sword into the ground, making Sting fall into the world of shadows.

"So this is...the world within the shadows...he wasn't kidding...I can feel all my senses being sharpened to their limits! Alright!" He began slithering towards Rahkeid in shadow form.

"O, Pure White Soul! Ascend to the free heavens!" Rahkeid chanted.

"Try this on for size...mine, Rogue's and Ms. Kagura's...combined technique! WHITE SHADOW DRAGON'S ROUGH SILK!" Sting used his ultimate technique, manipulating white and black strings that all stabbed Rahkeid, making him cry out in pain. He fell to the ground, wounded.

"The only one going to sleep around here is you."

"Fa...Father…"

 **X**

Natsu continued walking around through his subconscious.

"How far are you planning on taking me, Sting?"

"Huh? I'm Rogue." He turned around, now in the form of the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"Wha?! When the hell did you…!"

"I told you already, did I not? This is the world within your heart."

"Well if this really is my heart then quit changing the identity of the tour guide!"

"That just goes to show how terrible your attention span is, don't you think? That scarf of yours...you are aware that it's made out of Igneel's scales, correct?"

"Of course!"

"So tell me, then. Why exactly is a scarf made of Igneel's red scales...white in appearance?"

"...You've...actually got a point there!"

"You didn't even think to question it until now, I see. When Dragon Scales are separated from the body of the dragon, their pigment becomes faint."

"Well, what do you know?" 

"However, that's not what's important here...When the scales of a dragon are removed, and their pigment fades, they are then able to be touched by humans. Surely you didn't actually believe that Igneel took time out to knit a human-sized scarf with his own two hands, did you?"

"Huh?! You mean he didn't?!"

"The one who actually knitted that scarf for you was a woman named Anna. Although I'm sure that has long since faded into the recesses of your memory." Natsu could see a visual of Anna knitting a red scarf.

"Lucy?!"

"Close, but not quite. A striking resemblance, isn't it? To your friend, that is…" Natsu turned around.

"Zeref…"

"Anna was such a kindhearted woman...she was especially gifted at taking care of others. Now then...your 'death' has drawn near. The final answer is just a little further ahead."

 **X**

"This is bad! His body temperature just keeps plummeting!"

"Natsu, hang in there!"

"Lucy, hurry up and strip." Porlyusica ordered.

"Wh...why?!" she blushed.

"It's our last resort...all we can do is attempt to raise his body temperature. We can only pray...that another's warmth and feelings will bring about a miracle…"

"...Okay….." she muttered.

"Zeref…Zeref...I will...defeat…" Natsu mumbled in his sleep. "Zeref…"

"Natsu...you don't have to think about that anymore…"

"Please, Natsu...Just let it go already...If you kill Zeref...I know...then you'll die too…" Happy cried.

"Wha...Ha[[y, what did you just…?!"

"What...do you mean by that?"

"Dear god, please...save Natsu! I'm begging you!" Happy hugged him.

"If Zeref is defeated...Natsu will...die?!" Lucy asked.

Gray slowly opened his eyes…

 **X**

"I'm going out." Silver said.

"To fight?"

"That's right. I know where Natsu and the others are. I'll be waiting nearby for when they're ready to leave."

"I see."

"Last chance. Are you sure you don't want to go in my place? He is your brother, after all."

"If Natsu can't defeat you, then he can't defeat me. I think fighting you will give him a good taste of what fighting a god is like."

"...You got it. I'll be sure to give them hell."

 **End.**


	12. Black Soul

**Songs**

 **Erza vs. Eileen: Dojigiri Ezel (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Eileen's Reveal: Immortality of Tempester (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Mira meets Layla: Goddess of the Chill Moon Seilah (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Mira's Sadness: Sad Fight (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Mira's Anger: Mard Geer Tartaros the Underworld King (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Mira vs. Layla: The Beautiful Demon Mirajane (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Layla's Transformation: Neo Minerva (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Mira's Death: Nothing Can Be Explained [With Vocals] (Bleach OST)**

"Sting! Rogue! Are you unharmed?!"

"Everyone?" Minerva and Yukino hurried towards the others.

"Madame...Yukino…" Sting said, slowly sitting up.

"Forgive me...I can't even stand up." Rogue muttered, still lying on the ground.

"It seems the battle has finally been decided."

"Sting, Buddy!"

"Rogue~!" Sting and Frosch went over to their respective master.

"You guys really hung in there too! Great job!"

"I was pretty much helpless there, though, yep." Lector said, hugging him.

"Fro's gonna eat together with Rogue!"

"Y...Yeah...What are you talking about?" Rogue asked.

"Kagura...so you fought with them as well."

"Minerva…"

"I believe I have yet to apologize to you properly...for everything I did during the Grand Magic Games."

"At this point, I consider it all water under the bridge. Not to mention...I've quit resenting and bearing grudges for others. I simply want to look straight ahead and live life to the fullest. By the way, this person seems to be having quite the pleasant sleep, but...who exactly are they?" Kagura asked, pointing to Sorano, who was having a dream that was a little bit too happy.

"Ah! I completely forgot about her." Lector said.

"Well...you see...eh…" Yukino began.

"Man, I'm running on empty. I've got nothing left in the tank. The rest is in your hands…" Sting said.

"Yeah...They're all yours...Fairy Tail."

 **X**

Erza slashed towards Eileen again, who blocked the strike with her staff. She dodged another attack, and tried to hit Erza with the bottom of her weapon, but missed. Erza ducked and formed a sword on the ground which she picked up with her foot and aimed at Eileen. Another strike blocked, so Erza had no choice but to pull back. She flipped around and gained some distance. Eileen smiled as she opened her hand and then clenched it shut into a tight fist. Erza looked below her as a massive explosion came up through the ground below them.

She used the blast to jump high in the air and Requip.

"Heaven's Wheel… Blumenblatt!" She used all of the swords to home in on Eileen at once and try to impale her. A large cloud of dust separated them.

"Have we done it?!" Wendy asked.

"No...she's not an opponent who'd go down from just that."

"I see...you launch indiscriminate slashing attacks by means of your innumerable blades. Being able to control such a large number at once is no small feat." Eileen appeared out of the smoke.

"I applaud you." She clapped slowly. "For that, you have earned a Flower Circle!" All of the blades were arranged in a flower pattern, and all had missed. Eileen stood in the very center. [Mashima clarified that a flower circle is basically the equivalent of a smiley face or gold star in Japan when a student does well on their assignment.]

"Not only did she fend off Erza's attack...but she even managed to do that?! I can't believe it…"

"She's screwing around with me…" Erza growled.

"And yet, even after being strengthened by that little girl's enchantments, this is the best you can muster, Erza?" Eileen smirked confidently. "How utterly disappointing." She tapped one of the swords, causing them all to evaporate.

"Identify yourself, you fiend!"

"You've still yet to figure it out? No...in reality, you've vaguely begun to realize, but...you simply refuse to acknowledge it."

"I know nothing of the likes of you!"

'Her resemblances to Erza aren't limited to only her facial features...even their scents are similar!' Wendy had figured it out.

" **I am your mother.** " Erza had a look of shock on her face for a brief moment.

"Wha-?! Erza' mother-"

"THAT'S A LIE! I was completely alone in Rosemary. I never had parents, not even in my dreams!"

"And yet, here stands your parent, right before your very eyes. It shouldn't surprise you that much, considering the trend that your friends' parents are with us. Silver, Yury, Layla, and myself." [ **A/N: This was the very same reason I originally believed Eileen to be Erza's mother and not her sister when she was revealed. The fact that Silver was a member of Tartaros, and the fact that Layla presumably knew Zeref or at least knew of him when she learned of opening the eclipse gate was the trend that the parents were the dark mages. Zeref is an exception in Natsu's case, but I thought Eileen looked too old to be Erza's sibling.]**

"There is but one person in this world whom I can call my parent: Master, who has been there for me my whole life!"

"Well...I don't particularly mind. In truth, I'm also rather indifferent to the fact that I have a daughter. I was under the impression that you had long since perished. But the fact that fate has led us to meet again under these circumstances is truly unfortunate for you."

"If someone attacks my guild, regardless of who they may be...In my eyes, they are nothing but an enemy."

"Well said...when someone dares to defy our Alvarez Empire, I can only see them as another bug that needs to be squashed. Even if that someone just happens to be my own child. However...It would be a pity if you were to simply die in blissful ignorance of the secret of your birth."

"I have no interest in such tales."

"Oh, don't be so cold. We've finally been reunited under these fateful circumstances, so the least you can do is indulge me, don't you think?"

"Silence!" She reverted to her original armor and rushed towards her with her sword drawn. Eileen appeared in front of Erza quicker than she could have prepared for though.

"I suppose I should properly introduce myself." She moved her long scarlet hair out of the way to reveal a black number 4 tattoo on her right shoulder and another tattoo on her left shoulder that looked like a woman with her arms raised and a spiral trailing from her stomach down to her lower half. It looked kind of like a tree.

"My full name is Eileen Belserion. I'm the Fourth God of Alakatasia. And also...I'm the Former Queen of the Dragons."

 **X**

Mira was still fighting Jacob, and the two were pretty even.

"It's clear to me that you're already damaged from before this. You're running out of stamina." He knocked her back.

"Oh, really? You think so? You don't know much about me, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've been fighting you on even ground this whole time, and I haven't transformed into any of my forms."

"Forms? What are you talking about?"

"Exactly that. You don't know what I can do. Satan Soul!" Mira transformed and punched Jacob back again, this time sending him flying into a boulder. It seemed like he was unconscious for the time being. Mira went back to normal and sighed.

"Hmph...I thought he'd be stronger. Certainly underwhelming for a member of the Spriggan 12."

"Impressive. Then how about you fight someone stronger?"

"!" Mira suddenly felt strange. Time and Space seemed to warp around her. She looked around to find herself in an area much like where she was, but with a much darker sky. Something still felt off to her. She turned around to see Layla standing across from her in her dark blue outfit.

"Layla…"

"Hello Mira."

"What did you do? What is this place?"

"All five of us have the ability to warp time and space in order to meet with whoever we want in private. Right now, you'll look like you're unconscious on the ground, although you're actually here."

"So...why did you choose to talk to me?"

"There were a few things I wanted to know about you. You intrigue me. If you give me satisfying answers to my questions...I may change my secondary target to you."

"Secondary target?"

"My questions first, understood?"

"Y-Yes." Mira gulped. She didn't want to anger her, she was supposedly stronger than that monster Yury.

"Alright. First, what did you do to Seilah?"

"Huh?"

"I'm well aware that you are the one who defeated her when your guild fought against Tartaros. After they were defeated, I went down there to recover the bodies and return them to their books, but Seilah was nowhere to be found. Do you know what happened to her? And don't lie, I can tell whether you are or not."

"...I used Take Over on her body to prevent her from dying. I'm able to utilize her appearance and powers now as a separate Satan Soul spell." she replied calmly.

"Ah...I see...very clever of you. No wonder why I wasn't able to revive her like I did with Silver. A shame really...she's the only demon from Tartaros that I actually got along with. Alright...Next. What is it with you and Laxus?"

Mira blushed.

"What do you mean?"

"You think I don't know? I can sense some of his residual magic power on you. Did you two sleep together?"

"Well...you can't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed."

"...Shortly after Laxus and I lost to Yury, I found myself unable to go anywhere without him. He saved my life during that battle and I felt insecure if he wasn't by my side. That night...the night before your friend warped us away for the second time...he walked me back to my house, and I didn't want him to leave, so he spent the night. We slept in the same bed, true, but...we didn't…"

"...I understand." Her long hair blew around a little bit in the breeze she had retained from the weather when she created the space.

'I don't think it's that she's attached to Laxus, I think it's that she's traumatized by Yury.'

"So then I take it you are also the one who defeated Juliet and Heine, Eileen's two girls."

"Yes. I used a new power of mine on them."

"Hm….Alright. That's all for me. Go ahead. Ask me anything you'd like."

"A-Alright. First off, are you feeling alright? You seem different from last time."

"Why do you ask?"

"You may be our enemy, but you're still Lucy's mother."

"Heh...your kindness knows no bounds." she looked off to the side. "I'm alright. Just a bit heartbroken, I suppose."

"Heartbroken?"

"Yes...Zeref has been keeping secrets from me regarding my family. For the time being, I'm taking a short break from this war."

"Okay...What did you mean by 'target'?"

"The five of us; the five gods, that is; have a certain condition imposed upon us by our masters."

"Condition?"

"Yes. Both as a group, and as individuals, are said to be either beneficial or detrimental to this world during our lifetimes. During that time, we are supposed to keep watch on two different people. They are usually the people that we interacted with or got to know the most during our lifetimes. Or they could just be someone dear to us. We are to keep in close contact with those people, and battle them as often as we can to make them stronger; to train them. Because if we happen to die before our purpose is fulfilled, the first one, the primary target, is chosen as the new god. But this is very very rare. Usually the gods stick to their respective families without any hindrances."

"So then who are your targets? And what do you mean by families?"

"I'll tell you as a group instead of individually. Our Primary Targets are Gray, Erza, Natsu, Mavis, and Laxus. Our secondary targets are Juvia, Makarov, and Mystogan. Two of us didn't choose a secondary target. And now that Makarov's dead…"

"Master's dead?!"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Mira was starting to tear up.

"This is my last question…Why did you leave Fairy Tail? Why did you leave Laxus alone?"

"Ah. That's a simple one. Because my true home is Alvarez. Despite the fact that Laxus and Mystogan looked up to me as a mother, that Gildarts thought of me as the best friend he ever had, despite the fact that Makarov loved me as if I was his own child, the fact that he was the one that brought me into Fairy Tail in the first place when I had nowhere else to go...the fact that I had to leave Lucy behind…" Mira gritted her teeth in anger.

"I believe that there was no other way that my life could have gone. Zeref is the only man that I've ever truly been in love with. And vice versa, I'm the only woman that Zeref is able to love without killing them by accident."

"So...you feel nothing at the fact that your former guild...your family...is now being torn apart? The fact that the man who gave you a home is now dead…?"

"No. I feel nothing. In fact, I suppose you could call me the one responsible for it. I did plan this entire invasion, after all."

"...I see….." Mira's hair began to stand up on end, and her dark purple magic power began to rush around her.

"Do you hate me?" Layla mocked.

"...Apologies to Laxus, Gildarts and Mystogan….but I'm afraid that the one who's going to kill you…...is me. You are going to die. Right now! SATAN SOUL: MIRAJANE ALLEGRIA!"

Layla closed her eyes and snapped her fingers, dispelling the space, and sending them back into the real world. Mira rushed to Layla at the speed of light and threw a powerful punch. The shockwave of the attack destroyed the ground behind her and a nearby plateau. But when the smoke cleared, it revealed that Layla had caught the strike with a single hand.

"Wha-?!" Mira gasped.

"This was a foolish choice, girl. Your powers aren't exactly the right type for fighting me." Layla kicked Mira in the stomach, sending her propelling backwards.

"Besides, your magic power...can't even begin to compare to mine." she said maliciously. "Fire Devil's Rage." Layla unleashed a blast of blue fire from her mouth towards Mira, who was still falling towards the ground. She recovered and charged up Darkness Magic in her hands.

"Soul Extinctor!" She unleashed a beam of darkness towards Layla's fire, and the two clashed and exploded.

"You've gotten better, you can maintain this form for a longer timeframe than before. But it doesn't really make a difference. This battle was decided the moment you charged at me."

"Shut up! Soul Extinctor!" Mira fired another super-powered blast towards her. Layla sighed and shook her head.

"Fine then. I guess I'll have to prove it to you." Mira landed back on her feet and watched her attack completely level the ground near Layla, but soon after, the energy dispersed and Layla was once again holding a single hand up. She opened her fist to release the last remnants of black energy.

"What…?" Mira whispered, her eyes now widened in fear and shock.

"Like I said before, your powers aren't exactly the ideal type for defeating me. That's because...we have the same kind." Layla released a portion of her magic power. Blue fire began to flare up behind her, while her body became shrouded in a pitch black aura. Her eyes began to glow blood red. Mira deactivated her transformation, she couldn't keep it up under the pressure of this magic energy. She fell forward onto her knees.

'This…...is her power…..? I can't even breathe…'

Layla's power could be felt from all over the battlefield.

"What...is this energy…? It's dark...cold...full of rage and despair…" Lucy shivered. "It's like I'm sensing the devil himself…"

"That...is you mother's magic power." Dimaria said. Lucy's eyes started to form tears.

'The devil, huh? I'm afraid that it's a woman...her.' Dimaria thought.

Silver looked up into the sky, noticing what was happening. He stared for only a moment before closing his eyes and continuing to walk towards where Lucy and the others were.

Eileen looked up and started sweating.

"What is this energy?!" Erza asked, looking up.

"That's the power of one of my close friends." she smirked.

Zeref stood up, recognizing the all too familiar power. He started to head towards where Layla was.

Yury stopped and looked towards where it was coming from. He narrowed his eyes.

"...Your soul has become black. Is this what Isabella has done to you?"

"Satan Soul: Lucifer." Layla said, as her body began to change. Her clothes disappeared, and her figure glowed black. Her hands became gloved with her fingernails growing out to resemble claws. Her hair stood up on end and became wild and unruly. Layers of clothing began to form on her body. A skin tight black suit covered her, before being clothed in a black and green trench coat, and a red silk cape with gold trim. Black and green boots covered her feet. A dark streak ran over her left eye, of which both became red in color. She smiled and exhaled, breathing out a black mist. She walked over to Mira slowly.

"I like to think of this form as 'Darkness Incarnate.'"

"What did you take over to gain a spell like that?" Mira asked, mustering up as much of her voice as she could.

"Nothing, actually. It's a rather unique spell that only the Devil Slayer of Fire can use. The legend goes that Lucifer himself used to be the Devil Slayer of Fire, and could access this form by using Take Over on himself. I myself gained access to it when I mastered this kind of magic." She demonstrated by opening one of her hands and producing a small blue flame. It was now a darker shade of blue than it was before.

"So, essentially, when I use this spell, I'm using Take Over on my own body. The only thing the spell requires is a dark magic power, and there's none that's blacker than mine."

"Using Take Over...on yourself?"

"Yes. It might work if you try it yourself, but I'm not positive. In any case, Mirajane, I'm afraid that this fight is over, and you've already realized that, haven't you?"

"What are you going to-HRK!" Her sentence was cut short when Layla impaled her with her claws. The color began to drain from Mira's eyes.

"Sorry...but I'm afraid there's a side effect to this form. I become rather cruel and bloodthirsty." She lifted her body up off the ground while the wound became Larger, with Layla's claw going deeper into her body and out through the other side of her. Blood dripped from both the hole in her chest and from her mouth.

"Before you die, you should know…..you and all of your friends...are going to lose. You will all die." Layla dropped her onto the ground and began to walk past her. She licked the blood off of her nails.

"So long. And don't worry, you'll see Laxus soon enough. In Hell." She deactivated her transformation, regaining back her dark blue gown, cape, and heels, while her hair fell back down, remaining straight this time, instead of in a ponytail. The last of Mira's color drained from her eyes, and her consciousness began to leave her as she watched Layla walk away, a small amount of her victim's blood dripping off her hand. She shook it off, and continued walking.

Mira didn't even have the strength to close her eyes. She laid there, with a hole through her body, bleeding out. Her hair was completely hanging down, and her dress was all ripped up. Her eyes were barely open, and had no life left in them. Blood was slowly falling out of her mouth, and stained her chin.

"Layla!" Zeref ran up across from her. The two looked at each other. This was the last thing that Mirajane Strauss saw before everything went black.

"...Zeref."

"...Layla."

 **End.**

 **Remember that this story is rated M mostly for Language and Blood, not so much the sexual content. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! The only things that was directly from the manga in this chapter were the first two scenes, with Sabertooth, and Eileen and Erza. The Mira and Layla confrontation is completely my own idea and writing.**


	13. Vera

**Songs**

 **Vera Dragneel: Dangerous Confrontation (Fairy Tail OST)**

"...Zeref."

"Layla."

"What are you doing here?"

"Learning. I was interested in that girl."

"And so you killed her afterwards?"

"Yes. I considered making her my secondary target, but it turns out that she was weaker than Mystogan."

"I see…"

"Zeref, why did you come down here? I assume you came because you felt my magic power?"

"Yes...You met Isabella?"

"Yeah…"

"What did she say to you?"

"...That you planned to invade this continent long before now."

"Oh...that."

"Yes, that!" She ran up to him and threw her arms around him. "Zeref, is it true?! You always told me that you couldn't carry this out without my power, that's why you waited so long! Was that just a lie?"

"...No. At first, I did plan to invade, but after discovering that your mother intended to stop us, I pulled back, and postponed it. At the time, only Yury and I were members of the empire. You, Eileen, and Silver had not been found yet. I decided that in order to have the best chance of success, I needed to find you three and make sure all five of us were assembled. So, I really couldn't pull this off without your power."

"But why keep my mother from me? For all the years that we've known each other...you've never once mentioned her to me."

"For the same reason that you didn't tell Silver that Gray was still alive." Layla's eyes widened.

"What would you have done had you found out? Go after her? Layla, you're one of us. Isabella's motive is to stop us from taking over this continent. Who's to say she won't get rid of you too?"

"Don't suggest that. She wouldn't."

"I know, but it's a possibility. Come back with me. Come back to your home."

"...Alright. For now, I'm still going to stay away from fighting. I need some time to think."

"That's fine. Let's go."

"Oh. Night Goddess' Healing." Layla blasted some of her magic power into Mira, healing her wounds and repairing the hole in her chest.

 **X**

 _400 Years Ago_

 _Dragnov Kingdom_

" _I heard the humans on the western continent were attacked yet again." A soldier said to another._

" _By dragons, eh?"_

" _It would appear the dragons of the west do not possess the same level of intelligence, unfortunately." Said a large green dragon that landed behind them._

" _Ah! The dragon of virtue, Lord Belserion!"_

" _So you've returned from your observational journey!"_

" _Indeed...The situation in the west has become much more worrisome than I had anticipated. Is Eileen here as well?"_

" _Yes sir...Her Majesty the Queen is in the courtyard."_

 _All around the courtyard was a mix of both humans and dragons, talking and enjoying each others' company._

" _Eileen."_

" _Belserion! You've finally returned!" A young Eileen said excitedly. She looked just like Erza, save for the fact that she wore a dress and cape instead of armor, and had a strand of hair braided._

" _You look troubled, judging by your expression...is something amiss?"_

" _The dragons of the west are attacking and devouring the humans. Before long, they will surely descend upon our beloved Ishgar as well. It may well already be too late to stop them."_

" _The mere idea of dragons eating humans...it's unthinkable." Eileen said sadly._

" _We must not allow that ideology to take root in Ishgar. We've come this far walking alongside humans as allies."_

" _Yes...Humans, as well, have been able to advance this far thanks to the dragons' knowledge and power. From the very beginning, humans and dragons have proven that they're more than capable of coexisting...and yet…It is the reckless behavior of the western dragons was to traverse the seas and make its way here...Would the trusting relationship humans and dragons have worked so hard to build here...become broken and tarnished?"_

" _I shall not allow that to happen. We will protect all humans!"_

"This was the beginning of the war that would later become known as the 'Dragon King Festival.' Yes...It was a war that was brought about by the kindness of dragons." Eileen explained, back in the present.

"400 years ago?! But your appearance is-!"

"Not to worry. Little by little, everything will be revealed. Now is when things start to get interesting. Erza. And that goes for the cute little Dragon Slayer as well. Mine was a country in which humans and dragons peacefully coexisted and walked alongside one another for generations. In Ishgar, many such countries existed during that era."

 _Eileen held a wooden stick, giving a demonstration to some of the townspeople. There was an iron sword resting on two concrete blocks in front of her. She focused on it, and then swung downwards. She easily broke the blade in half._

" _Woah! An iron sword was cleaved in half by a wooden stick just like that! Your Majesty! What is this sorcery?!" One of the spectators yelled._

" _This is called 'enchantment'. I grant the stick a level of hardness that surpasses iron, temporarily heightening its destructive capabilities."_

" _Amazing!"_

" _This will make the dragons even more powerful! This war will be over in a flash!"_

"However...the flow of the war was not favorable for us. In addition to the enemy's sheer numbers, we were also put at a disadvantage due to a small faction of Ishgar dragons who were opposed to coexisting with humans and going to war against their own kind."

" _We will lose..."_

" _I see…."_

" _My desire to protect our human friends has not wavered, even under these circumstances...No matter how many of compatriots fall in battle...I shall not budge an inch on this."_

" _Why...Why would you go so far for we humans…?"_

" _I told you, did I not? Of the story of how my life was saved long ago….by your now-deceased predecessor."_

" _No, Belserion….I believe you have more than repaid that debt."_

" _You attend to me and provide me with council...you continue to fight and put your life on the line for humans...there must be more to it…"_

" _Eileen...Until I keep you safe from any and all dangers, I can't even imagine my debt being fully repaid. I swear on this life of mine that…"_

" _Belserion. Let me join you...and fight as well."_

" _What nonsense are you spouting?! Your enemies are not fellow humans, but dragons! Even if you were to form a massive battalion of humans, their power would pale in comparison to even a lone dragon!"_

" _I've come up with an idea...a Secret Art of sorts. Your power...The power of a dragon...could you not attach it to me?"_

" _Bestow a dragon's power...unto a human?!"_

" _A power with which I could fight against the evil dragons...the power...of a Dragon Slayer!"_

"Wha…?"

"You mean to tell me you invented...Dragon Slayer Magic?"

"That is correct. I am the mother of all Dragon Slayers."

 **X**

"The one who originally invented Dragon Slayer Magic was a lady named Eileen. Or so I was told by Anna."

"Wendy?! When the hell did you…!"

"It's all coming from your own heart, dammit. Quit acting so shocked at every little thing." Gajeel said, now standing next to Wendy.

"It's just one thing after another with you guys! I thought you were supposed to tell me about the cause of what's got me on my death bed, or something!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that? All of this is a guide that you conjured up yourself in order to help jog that crappy memory of yours!"

"It's just up ahead, Natsu!"

 **X**

"One could argue that the plan to grant humans the power to fight against dragons was a resounding success. It not only marked the birth of many Dragon Slayers, but the tides of that war finally turned in our favor. However...that enormous power began to gnaw away at the human vessels that housed them. There were those who could not contain their powers and were driven to go on an unstoppable rampage. Others were stricken with an extreme sickness caused by the large gap between a dragon's visual acuity and the perception of a human's semicircular canals. And in others still…"

" _Lady Eileen...forgive my rudeness, but...your face…"_

" _What?"_

"The seed that would begin to sprout within their bodies...the Dragon Seed."

 _Eileen's face was cracking and scales were visible._

"It would mark the final moments of Dragon Slayers as humans...And begin their irreversible transformation into a dragon...At that time, you were already growing in my womb, Erza."

 **X**

"Uncle Yury!"

"!" A young girl with long black hair jumped down from a cliff and landed next to Yury.

"Vera, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to stay back at the palace?"

"There's barely anyone there anymore. Besides, isn't it safer when I'm near Mom and Dad?"

"I suppose." Yury sighed. "But you should head up to Fairy Tail now. I'm heading towards everyone else."

"Sure. I'll go now." She ran up towards the guild.

"...Light God's Blade." Yury formed his light sword, and cut off the top part of his hair that was sticking up for his God Serena persona. He kept walking towards Mavis and Laxus.

 **X**

"Mom!" Layla looked up and towards the entrance.

"Vera?" The young girl ran towards Layla and hugged her. She wore black leggings, a blue shirt, and a black coat.

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to stay at the palace?"

"Yes, but...there's nothing to do there. And I'd be safer with you anyways!"

"Vera, you're only 14 years old. Despite the fact that you're equal to the Spriggan 12, I don't want you to get hurt." Zeref said.

"Have you forgotten the magic Aunt Eileen taught me? I can change my age and appearance to make myself stronger and more experienced."

"Well, of course, but still...if you mention to any one of our enemies that you're our daughter, they would attack you."

"I can handle myself."

"Vera." Layla said sternly.

"Y-Yeah…?"

"You do realize that we're only looking out for you, right?"

"Yes, mom."

"Then here's the deal. If you want to join the battle, one of us has to be nearby to make sure you don't take any irreversible damage, okay?"

"Okay…Hey, mom?"

"Yes?"

"When do I get to meet Lucy?"

"Oh, that's right. Your Uncle Silver's on his way to see her now. Would you like to go?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright. I'll come with you. Come on." Layla stood up and created a purple portal. The two of them began to walk through.

"I thought you weren't going to fight right now."

"I'm not. I'm going to watch and keep our little girl company. And I suppose I should explain a few things to Lucy."

"Don't overdo it."

"I won't. Don't worry." Zeref walked up to her and they kissed before she finished walking through the portal.

 **X**

"Uncle Silver!"

"Hm?" Silver looked behind him to see an energetic Vera and Layla following closely behind.

"You brought her here?"

"She brought herself here." Layla sighed.

"Mm. And what about you? Have you got everything figured out?"

"...No, I haven't. I'm not really sure who's more believable. But I believe that it's right to stay with Zeref and Alvarez for now."

"Good. Now then…" He continued walking, seeing the ruins in sight. "Why are you following me?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're going to see your kid, so shouldn't I see mine?"

"You want to meet your sister, do you?" Silver asked Vera. She nodded happily.

"Layla, I've been meaning to ask you…" Silver said, as they continued on.

"Yeah?"

"What happens...if Natsu dies? Before he's able to kill Zeref?"

"..."

"You can sense it, right? His life force and magic power are fading fast. And for that matter...are you even okay with allowing Zeref to die?"

"...I have to be. No matter how close I am to him, his wish is to disappear off this earth. And I have to accept that. That's why I joined Alvarez in the first place. Should he decide to change his mind and stay alive, then I'll use all of my power to stop anyone from hurting him. But until that day comes, if it even does come, we have to believe that Natsu will take care of it. And if he doesn't...then the responsibility falls to me."

"And are you strong enough to go through with that? What about your daughter?"

"...It's alright." Vera said. He looked down at her.

"I wish it were different...but I already know about daddy's wish. He wants to die so that he can stop hurting those around him. And I believe that's a noble cause."

"I see. I'm sorry…"

"Like I said, it's okay. Besides, I know that daddy loves me." she smiled.

"Good girl." Layla said, putting her arm around her daughter.

"We're here." Silver said, stopping in front of the building that Natsu and the others were in. They walked down the stairs slowly.

"I hear footsteps." Brandish said, while the others looked up towards the staircase.

"This is the worst possible timing…" Lucy groaned, sleeping naked with Natsu under a blanket to warm his body temperature. Just like Porlyusica suggested.

"Why does someone have to come here now?" Evergreen asked. Silver finally came into view.

"Lord Silver...you're back." Brandish said, lowering her guard once again. He went and sat down in one of the chairs in the corner. The footsteps continued as they wondered who else was coming. Layla came into view.

"M-Mom…" Lucy muttered. "And…?" Vera stood next to her, wide-eyed. Layla took a quick look around the room before noticing what Lucy and Natsu were doing.

"...Oh my god…." she had to stop herself from bursting out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Lucy blushed, feeling ashamed.

"It's hilarious, Lucy! We picked a good time to show up!"

"YOU PICKED A TERRIBLE TIME TO SHOW UP!" Layla went and sat down in the other chair.

"Vera, come here." The young girl hopped over and sat on her mother's lap.

"Mom, who's…?"

"This is Vera. Vera Dragneel. My daughter." She said.

"Oh, right. I forgot to mention that to you." Brandish said.

"You...had another daughter?" Lucy asked.

"That's right. With Zeref. She's your stepsister."

"Hi!" she said, jumping up.

"Hey...You couldn't have mentioned this before?" Lucy asked.

"I didn't want to bring her into this conflict. I don't want anything to happen to her. She's more than capable of handling herself, but against my mother, or one of your S-Class mages, I'd rather have her sit out."

"Speaking of which…" Dimaria began.

"It may have seemed like I had joined her, but I only stayed with her to see her take on this war and learn what she knew. Out of caution, I made it seem like I had joined her, and discovered that her only purpose in this war is to stop the continent from being taken over. Essentially, my mother uses her powers to prevent the five of us from doing something destructive."

"In that case, shouldn't we be helping her?" Ever asked.

"No. She has an ulterior motive. Her main purpose is to stop the Alvarez Empire, but she intends to stop this war as a whole as well. Meaning that if anyone from your side gets in her way, she will kill you immediately, without hesitation."

"...Mom." Lucy began.

"Mm?"

"It's fine if you don't want to answer this, but…..why did you join Zeref? Why did you fall in love with him?"

Layla stared at her for a minute before smiling warmly.

"It's about time you asked that."

"Huh?"

"Alright. I'll tell you. The truth."

"You will?"

"Of course. I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner. You deserve to know. Get comfortable. Oh wait, you already are."

"STOP TEASING ME!" Lucy cried.

"Hahaha! But it's so much fun."

"Yay! Story time! Age Magic: 4 Years." Vera said, becoming smaller. She now wore a small black dress, and her hair became shorter, only about shoulder length.

"What just happened?"

"Eileen taught Vera Age Magic. She's able to change her age and appearance at any point. This is how she fights, by becoming older and increasing her strength and magic power. But right now, she's 10 years younger." Layla picked her up and placed her in her lap.

"And much lighter." she sighed, patting Vera on the head.

"Now then...I mentioned this before, but I was sought out by Yury and Zeref when I was quite young, in order to open the Eclipse Gate. I desired to learn magic from them in order to become strong enough to open the gate on my own; I needed to become stronger and increase my magical capacity. I trained for 13 years before I finally became strong enough to defeat Yury. But while I was learning, my magic power had transformed from being bright and warm to being black and cold like it is now. That's why I had to leave Fairy Tail. My powers weren't for bringing good into the world."

"Look at Mira, she doesn't look like a regular everyday hero either, does she?"

"No, I suppose not. Especially after she got so angry during our fight."

"You fought her?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, she's okay. Although she might need some trauma therapy at this point…"

"You used Lucifer, didn't you? That's what that black pillar was before, right?" Silver asked.

"Yeah. I kind of left her there to die, but I healed her just before coming here, so she'll be okay."

"You did that to her…?" Lucy asked sadly.

"Yes, I'm sorry. She'll probably come after me again, too. In any case, after I opened the Eclipse Gate, I became ill with MDD. But as a skilled alchemist, I gave August detailed instructions for how to make a cure. He did so, and I was better by the end of the week. Because I would get better quickly, I needed to leave soon if I was going to, otherwise it wouldn't be believable that I suddenly got worse. Over the time that I trained with Zeref, we became closer and closer, eventually falling in love. Which means that your father and I also grew apart. Which is why we divorced before I opened the gate."

"Wait a minute...he knew?!" Lucy asked.

"Yes. About everything. Well, almost everything. He knew I was a member of Fairy Tail, and that I was training with Zeref to open and close the Eclipse Gate. What he didn't know was my motivation for leaving. As I spent time with Zeref, he would tell me about his past, living with Natsu and their parents, and also how he came to create E.N.D. He told me about meeting Mavis and her friends and teaching them magic, and about how it ended tragically for the two of them, about how he convinced Yury to come to Alvarez with him in much the same way as me. By simply explaining his motivations. Zeref can't control his powers. He's cursed. Ankhseram, the God of Death, cursed Zeref when he was trying to learn his Death Magic. He's never been able to fully control his powers. Death follows him wherever he goes. His curse is contradicting, so if he wages wars and stops caring about others, his powers recede, and he gains more control over them, whereas when he stays peaceful and learns to love those around him, his powers become stronger, killing his allies."

"That's terrible…"

"Yes, it's a rather unfortunate curse. Mavis has the same one. The only ones it does not affect are myself, Yury, and Vera.

"How come?"

"I devised a cure for it."

"Then can't you just cure Zeref?!"

"No. You see, Yury and I learned the Black Arts from Zeref, making us, in a sense, 2nd generation users. Our curses were easy to remove. Zeref's was laid upon him by a god of this world. I'm afraid nothing can get rid of it. Vera's not affected because she's his own flesh and blood. I cured her curse as well, making her a powerful third generation user. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. Zeref is waging this war so that he won't accidentally kill anyone else. Apart from that, he wishes to die by the hands of either E.N.D. or myself, essentially the only ones that can kill him. That way, he won't be burdened by this curse anymore. That's why I joined him. To help him achieve this goal."

"But...you said in your letter that he's your one true love...won't it tear you apart to kill the man closest to you? And what about Vera?"

"Oh, so you found that. Yeah, it's definitely not easy for us, but it's ultimately something we learned to accept. It's for the betterment of the world."

"...I knew you weren't evil." Lucy smiled, crying.

"Lucy. Now that you've heard this, do you want to join us?"

"What?" she was startled by the sudden request.

"I'm sorry that I didn't bring you with me, or tell you why I was leaving, but I couldn't risk you travelling overseas and looking for me. I didn't want you to get caught up in this war or become wrapped in darkness. But now that you've grown up surrounded by comrades of light, I know that you'll never embrace the dark like I did."

"I don't think you fully embraced the dark like Zeref or Yury. You still had enough light in you to love and have another child, after all."

"You're a bit bitter about that, aren't you?"

"A little...can you blame me?"

"No. No, I can't. But still Lucy. You and Natsu are both part of the Alvarez Royal Family. Zeref and Myself, Natsu, Rahkeid, You, and Vera. I'm asking you honestly, would you like to join us?"

"...No. My place is with Fairy Tail. My role in all this is to help stop this war and bring you back, not help you cause it."

"Heh. I expected as much. That's fine. But then be prepared for a tough fight."

"Age Magic: 23 Years." Vera said, standing up. She became about as old as Laxus, maybe a year younger. Her jet black hair grew out long again, reaching down to her back, and her body became more mature, growing assets comparable to Lucy, but not quite as large as Layla. She now wore her usual clothes, black boots, black leggings, a dark blue shirt, black coat, and now a long red scarf around her neck. She looked beautiful, a perfect cross between Layla and Zeref.

"Mom. I'm going out to the battlefield. Want to come?"

"Sure. Have fun Lucy. You'll see me soon enough. Eileen has already made her move, and Yury is about to make his." She stood up and left, along with Vera.

 **X**

The two appeared at the top of a cliff, standing next to Yury. They looked down to see Laxus, Mavis, and the rest of the guild there.

"Are you ready?" Layla asked.

"Of course."

"You're going first, then?" Yury looked over.

"I won't disappoint you, trust me. And it won't be to the death, I know you won't allow that." She smiled at her mother.

"It's time to show them the power of Star Dragon Slaying Magic." she smirked.

 **End.**

 **What do you guys think of Vera? I suppose this is my way of compensating for the fact that I was slightly conflicted about Rahkeid being Mavis' son. Also, I may or may not have Layla ally with Isabella again, later on. But for now, she's going to stay on Alvarez's side.**


	14. Enough

**Songs**

 **Laxus vs. Vera: Fierce Fight of the Force of Mortality (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Wendy Belserion: Dojigiri Ezel (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Wendy vs. Erza: Kotoamatsukami (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Can't Cut Her: Man of the World (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Eileen's God Magic: The Scarlet Letter (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Yury Enters: Momoshiki and Kinshiki (Boruto Naruto the Movie OST)**

Laxus sensed their presences and looked up to the top of the cliff, seeing the three of them. He gritted his teeth and jumped up, readying a punch towards Layla. However, Vera quickly intercepted him, and caught his attack, throwing him back down towards the ground. She jumped down across from him.

"Who are you?" he growled. "Another one of the Spriggan 12?"

"No. I'm Vera. Vera Dragneel. I'm a member of the Royal Family of Alvarez, the Princess of the Empire."

"Princess? That's different. You said your last name was Dragneel? Just like Natsu and Zeref?"

"Yes. I'm the daughter of Zeref Dragneel and Layla Heartfilia."

"Daughter?! So she had another kid…"

"I'm well aware that you're my mother's primary target and that you want to defeat her for yourself, but I won't let you unless you prove you're strong enough to defeat me."

"...Fine then. Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" Laxus created a lightning magic circle from which a giant electrified fist shot out of it, flying towards Vera.

"Wow, you're just raring to go, aren't you? Death Orb." Vera created a solid black orb in her hand and threw it at the spell, disintegrating it.

"Death Predation." She surrounded herself with a black aura.

'So she knows Death Magic too, just like her parents…' Laxus thought.

"Raiko: Red Lightning!" Laxus became coated in his red lightning. His speed and attack power increased as he rushed towards Vera. Her Death Predation began to expand, so Laxus teleported behind her.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" He yelled, this time blasting red lightning out of his mouth and towards her. She quickly dodged it.

'In order to fight me, he has to use ranged attacks so he won't get hit by my Death Magic. So if I try to take him on in close range, I'll have him on the ropes.' She thought. She started running towards him.

'Damn…! Is she trying to stay close so I'll get hit by it?!' Laxus jumped back, landing against the cliff. Vera continued coming towards him.

"You've got nowhere to run!"

"That's what you think!" Laxus placed one of his hands on the cliff wall, and flipped up backwards, narrowly avoiding Vera. He jumped up again, flying above Layla and Yury.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" He launched a red lightning lance down towards Vera, who looked up. She dodged it, but Laxus appeared behind her next.

'Damn! He's fast! And I already took my barrier down!'

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!" Laxus blasted red lightning towards her, making her scream, being electrocuted.

"Take that." he said, standing back up.

"Well done." She appeared behind him.

"Wha-?!"

"Dragon's Blood Clone." she clarified. "It's a technique that we top members of the Empire are rather fond of."

"Grrrr…."

"Laxus!"

"!" Laxus looked up towards one of the cliffs to see Mira standing there, catching her breath with a concerned look on her face.

"Mira?" He jumped up towards her. She hugged him tightly.

"What happened to you? I felt your magic power completely disappear before! I thought you were dead!"

"I thought so too….but I woke up a short time ago, healed. Although I'm covered in blood...In any case, I wanted to give something to you."

"What is it?"

"Eat some of my magic." she said, with a look of confidence on her face.

"Eat...your magic?"

"Yes. You remember how Natsu could absorb your lightning and Gajeel could absorb those shadows? You should do the same, use two elements at the same time. And if you absorb darkness magic, you should be immune to their Death Magic!"

"...Alright. Let's give it a shot." She stepped back.

'...It hurts...I'm just about out of stamina….so this will be the last thing I can do for now…'

"Darkness Stream!" Mira used the last of her strength to create a dark magic circle, and send large rays of dark energy to go towards Laxus. He prepared himself, then began to eat the darkness. Mira used the last of her energy, then fell forward, ready to collapse. Laxus caught her and laid her down gently. His lightning had turned dark purple, and his eyes had changed color to a dark purple as well. He jumped back down to where Vera was.

"So you unlocked your Dual Mode?" she asked confidently.

"You can call this a Lightning Darkness Dragon, I suppose. But I think I'll just call it...CHAOS DRAGON MODE!" Purple and Black lightning began to surge around Laxus, and his magic power skyrocketed.

'This energy...this darkness...it's warm. I wonder why? Maybe from Mira's feelings…?' He glanced at her, then back at Vera.

"Death Orb!" Vera sent another black orb towards Laxus, who stood still. This time, he simply caught it.

"What?!"

"Your Ankhseram Magic won't work anymore. Chaos Dragon's Roar!" Laxus blasted a beam of dark red, purple, and black lightning towards her.

"Tch...Guess I have no choice...Star Dragon's Roar!" She countered Laxus' spell with a roar of her own, releasing a wave of star shaped golden energy. It was equal with his beam, and the two cancelled each other out.

"You're a Dragon Slayer?" Laxus asked.

"Uncle Yury has an extensive collection of Dragon Slayer Lacrima, and Mom insisted one be transplanted into me so that I could use it to protect myself. I use Star Magic. I'm the Dragon Slayer of Stars."

"Again with Astronomy. That seems to be a common theme among you higher ranking members."

"We're all quite fond of it. As you may remember, my mother is quite the researcher and alchemist."

"No. I haven't forgotten. Chaos Dragon's Heavenward Battleaxe!" Laxus created a giant purple battleaxe that he swung downwards, splitting the ground in half. Vera jumped above him.

"Star Dragon's Secret Art: Celestial Crusher!" She launched herself towards Laxus and kicked him in the face, sending him flying down into the ground.

'Damn it! Even with a dual mode, she's still keeping up with me!'

"Chaos Dragon's Secret Art: Eternal Void." Laxus crossed his arms then spread them apart, creating a large black sphere that covered the surrounding area.

"What is this? I can't see anything…" Vera mumbled, looking around in the black radius. Suddenly, she saw a pair of glowing purple eyes in front of her.

"!"

"Chaos Dragon's Iron Fist!" Laxus uppercutted her, sending her flying upwards. He sped above her.

"Chaos Dragon's Heavenward Battleaxe!" He created another giant electrified axe that swung downwards, slashing Vera, and sending her plummeting into the ground. She slowly stood up.

"With this darkness, I can't see anything... Star Dragon's Shining Brilliance!" She clapped her hands together, creating a bright light that engulfed the darkness and made it disappear.

"This fight will never have a clear winner. My powers use light, and yours use darkness. We consume each other, there is never a true winner…"

'But there will be.' Layla thought, continuing to watch the fight. 'I trained Vera personally, ensuring that she would be strong enough to fight against any member of Fairy Tail. While Gildarts is still a questionable opponent, Vera is as strong as any of the Spriggan 12 at her real age. So when she becomes 9 years older, like she is now, her magic power becomes comparable to that of Silver and Eileen's. Despite the fact that you have your Dual Mode now unlocked, Laxus...you will eventually lose.'

 **X**

"Erza...your father was a general from a neighboring country. There's a thing called a political marriage when humans fought over territorial disputes. They are far less common today but still exist. He kept me company on many battlefields. He also took care of me when Belserion died. The war ended without even knowing who won and who lost due to Acnologia making his appearance. As if laughing at countless dead people, the victory was his and his alone."

 _ **One Week Since the War Ended**_

" _Don't come closer, you monster! Or I will kill you!" Erza's father, a man with shaggy black hair who wore a military general's uniform shouted. He was reaching for his sword._

" _It's me! I'm Eileen's! This face will surely heal! Therefore…" The entire left half of Eileen's face was now covered in scales._

" _This monster will also be like Acnologia!"_

" _I will not! I have always loved dragons!"_

" _Then you are considered humanity's enemy! Retreat! Capture this ugly dragon woman!"_

" _Please stop it! I am pregnant with your child…"_

" _I don't have a child with a monster!"_

" _!"_

"From then on, my life was miserable. Imprisonment. Torture. Violence. Humiliation."

 _Eileen was in her prison cell, with pretty much her entire body now covered in green dragon scales. Her hands were held protectively over her stomach._

" _Don't worry...Mom will definitely...protect you…" She looked up weakly to find her ex-husband standing before her on the other side of her cell._

" _Dragon woman...We have decided your execution date and time."_

" _Please...please...I beg you...for this child's sake…"_

" _Enough with that joke. Have you ever heard anyone is pregnant for three years?"_

" _That's because of magic...I can't give birth to this child in a place like this…"_

" _There's no child!" He drew his sword and entered the cell, pinning Eileen to the ground and raising the sword above her head._

" _Shall I tear up your belly now and make sure?!"_

" _NO! STOP IT! PLEASE!" Eileen suddenly sprouted wings and gave him a furious look._

" _Mo...Monster!"_

 _She destroyed the cell and emerged as a full dragon. She breathed fire, destroying the castle, and flew away, crying out._

" _I am human! I am human! I don't want this body! I want to change back to a human! Someone...help me…"_

"And then...hundreds of years passed. You were still in my belly. I kept looking for a way to unravel this curse in an unpopular mountain. One day…"

" _It is unusual that that dragon is still around."_

" _Who are you?!"_

" _No...you are human, am I right?"_

"That was the first encounter with his majesty. He is a genius wizard. He did what I couldn't do for hundreds of years. Very easily…"

 _Eileen changed back into a human. Tears grew in her eyes._

" _Human…! A human body…! Aahh! I am...human!"_

" _It's just the physique though. Hate to break it to you, but you are no longer…"_

" _It's alright! I do not mind it! I am…Just being able to return to this physique makes me very happy!"_

"However, that incident came soon."

" _...It is tasteless…No matter how much I eat, I can't taste the flavor. I can't sleep. My body is itching...it's so cold...it hurts...Why is this happening to me...I...I just want to be human again."_

' _It's only your physique though. You are no longer…'_

" _I am human! I'm human! Human! And I want to give birth to my...human child…Human...There's a human being inside my belly. A life...a human...Human...body...If I could enchant myself into this child, maybe I'll get my human body back? A new body...A new life...A new me. I am you, you are me. Let's become one, my dear child."_

"But I failed. It was impossible to enchant myself into you. That's why I lost my interest in you. And I dumped you like trash. In the corner of some small village."

"Was it Rosemary Village?"

"Who knows, I already forgot its name."

"Erza…" Wendy said.

"It's ok. I'm grateful to you for giving me life."

"I don't need thanks from the trash."

"How can you say that to your own child?!" Wendy cried.

"And I'm grateful for you abandoning me. Because thanks to that… I could meet my real family." Erza requipped into a new kind of armor.

"Even though you're my real mother...I will annihilate anyone who dares to block my path to the guild."

"Me too…I thought, that maybe if I told you about our past, my child, my feelings towards you would maybe change. Such a shame. None of them changed." She created a large explosion, which Erza and Wendy dodged. She sped towards her and slashed, with Eileen once again blocking the strike with her staff.

"Do you really think you can win against the queen of a country by merely using magical powers?"

"I have a family on my side."

"!" Wendy rushed past Erza and attacked Eileen.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"

"Black and Red Twin Blades!" Erza sliced both swords simultaneously, creating an X-shaped attack across her stomach that sent her back a short distance.

"You managed...to hurt...me…"

"I'm sympathetic to your past...But I can't forgive someone who doesn't even love their own child." Wendy said.

Eileen composed herself and stood up, smiling.

"O small dragon slayer. You heard me talking about the Dragons' Seed, didn't you? It's in you too."

"Yes. But it was my mother who kept it suppressed over the years."

"What?"

"So that we wouldn't transform into a dragon."

"Probably the same for Natsu too." Erza mentioned.

 **X**

"Huh? Wendy, Gajeel, where are you?"

"The Dragon Seed. It's the identity of what's inside your body. It grows with the darkness dragon slayers carry. It will cause Dragonification. However...I had stopped that growth."

Natsu looked behind him.

"Igneel…"

"That seed shouldn't be growing anymore."

"Maybe it's because you left my body…"

"No…that's not the case...there's one more seed inside your body. Let's call it Demons' Seed. It's the proof that you are E.N.D. Those two seeds are trying to fuse together. That's what's happening inside your body right now."

"So that's why I'm dying?"

"Yes. You're dying."

 **X**

"I see. So dragons sealed themselves inside your bodies and stopped the growth of dragon seed? Belserion, who gave me the power, died on the battlefield. I took over his name. I promised myself I would avenge him. But...to think there was a way to prevent the Dragonification…" she clenched her teeth angrily.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" she screamed, blasting a beam of light from her staff towards the other two. They were blinded by it, and were blown back.

"Give me back my life! I don't need this body!"

"I'll return the favor then! Wendy!" Erza yelled.

"Understood! Physical ability raise...Deus Eques!" She enchanted Erza's whole body, giving her a thick white aura that increased her strength and speed.

"Pretty clever. Detaching enchantment. Deus Zero." Eileen recited.

"Counterbalance the effects of Deus Zero with Deus Zero!" Wendy yelled back.

"What?! Is she able to use such advanced enchantment?!"

Erza merged her two swords together, making one two-handed one. She lifted it above her head and aimed to split Eileen in half.

"This is the end!" Her sword connected, and split her hat in half, but was stopped when it hit her head.

'What? Why did it stop?'

A small amount of blood trickled down her face.

"Earth Goddess' Armor Plating…" she mumbled. "I understood, Erza. The truth about enchantment. You were just a baby...and we're relatives...that's why I failed. But...is it really impossible to enchant one's personality into another's body? After all, I enchanted personalities onto those two swords…The answer is no. However, there must be compatibility between them. Who would have ever thought, that one day the young body of both dragon slayer and enchanter would appear right before my eyes." A thin layer of steam began to surround her, as she extended her hand towards Wendy. The young girl's color drained from her eyes as she felt a huge gravitational force pushing her down.

"No…!"

"Oh, how long I've been waiting for this moment...My magic power has decreased somewhat, but it's no problem."

"Wendy!"

"New body, new life. I have been born anew." Eileen was now fully enchanted onto Wendy, using her body.

"Ah…" Erza's eyes were widened and tearing up. Eileen examined her new body.

"This body...actually, the magic may take some getting used to…this girl uses wind magic. My old body was primarily an earth affinity...I don't think I'll be able to use my God Magic or God Soul for a while. Oh well. Ready for round 2, Erza? How will you fight your own comrade?" she smirked.

Erza was bewildered.

"A new body…"

"It can't be…"

"Damage to the left femur...countless bruises, lacerations and the like throughout the entire body...But that is of no consequence. I'm able to move. And what's this? My, what adorable breasts~"

"But what...What of Wendy…" She looked behind her to find Eileen's old body fall to the ground, motionless.

"That is nothing but a useless lump of flesh now."

"Where is Wendy?!"

"She is nowhere. If anything, you could say that she is me."

"Don't screw around with me! Get out of Wendy's body, fiend!" She requipped back into her rabbit armor and charged at her.

"What a stupid little girl you are. This is much more than simple possession. I have become Wendy herself!" She kicked Erza hard in the stomach sending her crashing backwards.

"I'm so sorry that Mommy went and restored her youth without you." she grinned condescendingly.

"You wretched…"

Wendy held her hand out towards Erza before an enormous blast of wind engulfed her.

"Hm! I see. It seems my magical powers have not dropped as much as I anticipated. I suppose that means that this little girl had enormous potential from the very start."

Erza lay beaten and wounded on the ground.

"Now then...I'm done playing games. It would be unbecoming for a lovely young girl like this to have a child, wouldn't you say? So I have no choice but to erase your existence here and now...or else I won't be able to begin my new life!" She created a burst of wind again that injured Erza even more.

"Sky Dragon Slayer Magic...I suppose it goes something like this?" she asked herself, hovering above the ground.

"Haha! Not bad at all!" She began throwing Sky Dragon Claws in rapid succession at her daughter, attempting to kill her.

"Wendy! You must chase her out of your body!"

"It's futile! This girl's ego has already perished! From today forward, I am Wendy! WENDY BELSERION!"

"I shall never hand over Wendy...to the likes of you, witch!" She created her merged blade again, rushing towards her. Eileen remained calm.

"Can you really bring yourself...to cut this body?" she asked confidently.

" _The unbearable pain of losing those whom you love and hold dear...your friends will more than make up for it. Come. To Fairy Tail!"_

" _I'll be the one to protect you this time, Erza."_

"..."

"You can't, can you? You are far too soft, Erza." She said darkly, knocking her back again.

"Enchant her armor...Explosion!" Erza was sent spiraling backwards before she was blasted away. She slowly recovered.

"The damage was...superficial?"

"Heighten resistance to all elements...Deus Corona!"

"!"

"Since we are both enchanters, I had the thought...that maybe I could do it too. It did take some time, but...It's me, Erza...I'm Wendy!" Eileen's body stood up.

"Wendy?!"

"Impossible!"

"My chest feels...so heavy…" she sighed.

"This cannot be! A little girl like you achieving a full persona enchantment…?! Inconceivable!"

"Your magic is truly amazing...but you choosing to enter my inferior body was a terrible mistake! Erza! Please get down!" Wendy fired a magic projectile towards Eileen. She held her hands out to block it, but was unsuccessful.

"Khhhh….I...I of all people am being pressured?!"

"Separation Enchantment."

"Wha-?! You intend to tear me apart from your body?!"

"That's right...when it comes to magic power, you have the advantage, after all."

"This girl...just what is she…"

"I'll have you return my body to me! I always longed for large breasts like these...but even so, I've come this far living in that small body of mine!"

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Wendy's magic hurt her body even more.

"What are you…?!" Erza asked.

"Do you still dare to return to your body in this state?! After all these years, I finally obtained the body I dreamed of! I will never return it! Never!"

"The scars all throughout my body are proof that I am alive! They are badges of honor I have earned for all the battles I've fought with Fairy Tail up to now! No matter how many more scars I may receive, it doesn't matter! Because in that body...the countless memories I've shared with all those who are precious to me still remain!"

"DAMN YOU!" After the flash of light disappeared, the two were back in their own bodies.

"Erza…"

"Wendy! You've returned?!"

"Yes...can I leave...the rest...to you…?" Erza requipped into her bandaged flame armor (surprisingly enough, it still doesn't have an official name yet.)

"Of course."

"You insolent little girls…!" Eileen clenched her fist. "I've truly had enough of you. I suppose I'm the first one to use it...haha…" She chuckled, leaning back and looking up into the sky.

"Do you think that you can beat me all alone? I haven't even gone all out yet, and you couldn't even beat me in her body." she motioned to Wendy.

"...I can."

"We'll see about that." She engulfed herself in a light green aura. Small trees began to grow quickly from underground, surrounding the older woman.

"What's this…?!"

"You have no clue what powers I possess. Earth Goddess' Binding!" She swiped her hands downward, causing the tree branches to extend and wrap themselves around Erza, stopping her from doing anything else.

"You want to know something else? I lied to you." She walked up to her daughter and peeled off the four on her shoulder.

"That wasn't a tattoo?" Erza choked out.

"No. It was a special kind of sticker that I enchanted. Only I can remove it." What remained was a black five on her shoulder.

"This one is a tattoo. I'm the fifth. Know what that means? That you're having trouble beating me while not at my peak, and there's still four members far stronger than me." she smirked. Erza's eyes widened.

"Think about it. My trees, my earth powers. I can make them as sturdy as I want to, but Silver's ice and wind can freeze them in an instant, Zeref's darkness can disintegrate them, Yury's light can obliterate them, and Layla's night and stars can warp them until they no longer exist. It doesn't matter if you beat me or not, because you **will** lose to the others. You lost this war the moment it began."

 **X**

"Damn it…" Laxus panted, his dual mode long since left him. He couldn't even manage Raiko at this point.

"Was that it?" Vera asked, standing over him. "I'm only 14 years old, you know. And at that age, I'm equal to Rahkeid, my step-brother. So when I alter my appearance, I become stronger. Right now I'm 23, a year younger than you. In this form, I'm equal to Aunt Eileen's God Soul. What hope do you think you have of standing up to Mom, if you can't even beat me?"

"...Vera." Yury jumped down to the canyon below where she, Laxus, Mavis, and the rest of the group were. The black haired girl looked behind her.

"Yes?"

"It's time. I've had enough of waiting. If Laxus still wants to fight, then you can fight him over that way." he motioned to the area behind where Layla was standing at the top of the cliff.

"No. I don't think he's worth the effort anymore." She heaved Laxus over her shoulder, and jumped up to where Mira's body lay, putting him down next to her. She sat down, letting her legs hang over the edge of the canyon, before undoing her Age Magic, returning to her young teenage form.

"You all should move out of the way, lest you get caught up in our fight." Yury advised the others, before they moved out of the way. Mavis looked up at him, with a facial expression that clearly spoke pain and sadness. She did not want to fight her old friend. Perhaps she still couldn't believe that it was even him.

"Why...why did you leave?" Mavis asked, her voice hoarse.

"I have nothing more to say to you, Mavis. It's time that I eliminate you off the face of this earth. Perhaps then your guild might be more successful. Time to die."

 **End.**


	15. Goddess of Death

**Songs**

 **Yury's Speech: Man of the World & Loneliness (Naruto Shippuden OST for both)**

 **Former Members: Saika (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Yury Shatters Mavis' Resolve: Soundscape to Ardor (Bleach OST) & Overcoming the Grief (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Tormenting Gildarts & Mavis' Death: Bloodlines (Assassin's Creed Syndicate OST)**

 **Mavis & Ankhseram: Zeref's Melancholy Theme (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Lucy's Dream: Dearly Beloved (Kingdom Hearts II Title Theme)**

 **Vera Explains Layla's Feelings: Grief and Sorrow (Naruto OST)**

 **Layla Explains her Motives: Ashura and Indra (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Layla Talks About Silver's Death: Obito's Death Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

"Are you ready?"

"..."

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. This fight can only end one way." He pointed a finger at the young girl before firing a beam of light from his fingertip, aimed straight at her heart. Mavis gasped before dispersing the beam by knocking it aside with one of her hands. She stood up slowly, looking over at her former friend.

"Look at you. It's so pathetic. Why can't you take this seriously?" He teleported behind her so that they were back to back.

"Is it because you still think of me as your friend?" He quickly spun around and kicked her in the stomach, sending her falling backwards across the gravel about 10 feet.

"Mavis!" Gildarts called out, running towards the First to help her out.

"Stay out of this." Yury growled, releasing a burst of golden magic power that sent Gildarts flying back to where the others were.

"Tell your friends to stay there, or I slaughter all of them in front of you."

"Gh-! DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" she screamed. Yury smirked briefly, but returned to his previous emotionless stare.

Mavis was shaking, with tears cascading from her eyes and down her face. She slowly sat up onto her knees.

"Why…? Why are you acting this way? What caused you to change?!" she cried.

"...I'm acting this way because of you. You drove me to this."

"Explain yourself!"

"I want you to think about this, Mavis. Think about this war from our point of view. Why do you think we're going through with this whole invasion?"

"To control other countries that aren't yours!"

"WRONG!" He snapped back, making her flinch. "This is exactly what I'm talking about! Every time that you Fairy Tail members go off to fight someone...what do you assume? That what you're doing is the right thing and that there's no other way. Isn't that right? When you fought against Oración Seis, and Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros. Every time, you thought that what you did was the right thing."

Mavis grew angry at this remark.

"You think that switching everyone's personalities, and wiping out all non-magical people, and taking away all magic on earth is something that anyone should just lie down and accept?!"

"No. I didn't say that what they did was right for the world. But to them, they thought they were doing the right thing. We are the same. Only that what we are doing will make the world a better place."

"How so?" she said through clenched teeth.

"You should know this better than anyone. The Ankhseram Curse is contradicting. Didn't you know about it before you even became afflicted with it?" She flinched.

"Why do you think we've spent the last 100 years building an Empire? To control our subjects like puppets? Please. We're not monsters. You can ask anyone in Alvarez. Whether it be an 80 year old man, or a 25 year old woman, or simply a 6 year old child. Ask them if they're happy with living there. I guarantee every single one of them will answer yes. We take care of our own, just like you do. But the more that Zeref grows to love his people, the more that they start being killed off. It's why he doesn't make many public appearances. But when he starts wars, and fights, his magic becomes suppressed, and more controllable. It's why we're doing this in the first place."

"But that's idiotic! If you take over the whole world, there's no one else to fight, and his curse would be enhanced again!"

"It's why he will never be able to rule over this empire. The moment that we win this war, Zeref has given us orders to kill him. If not Natsu, then either myself or Layla."

"B-But that's-!" she began crying again.

"Do you think he cares? As much as Layla doesn't want to, she knows that it's the right thing to do. Vera as well. Zeref has no ties to you anymore. He's moved on, and you should as well. Stop trying to save him, because there's no cure for him like there was for the rest of us."

"...I still don't get it….Why don't you just do that now instead of waging this stupid war?"

"...Because of people like you. Even if we were to remain calm, and stay where we are, what would happen? An empire run by Zeref Dragneel? Eventually, you and the Ten Wizard Saints would come knocking down our front door due to the mere threat of us, regardless of whether or not we took action. Isn't that what Fairy Tail does? Your guild has a reputation for running wild and destroying things that you don't believe in or that you don't think is right. But to them, you're just another force of oppression trying to prevent their dreams from coming to fruition because you're too self-conceited to allow anyone other than yourselves to be an authority."

"Why don't you shut your mouth?!" Cana yelled out. Yury turned around and faced her.

"You have a different opinion?"

"You bet I do! Everything that we do, everything that we fight for, is all for the sake of making the world a better place! You do realize that every guild we've ever fought is a Dark Guild, right?!"

"That may be true, but like I said before...to them, their actions are just in one way or another."

"You said to ask anyone in Alvarez if they're happy living there? Well, ask anyone in Fairy Tail the same question! They'll say yes too!"

"I can disprove that theory easily. Look at us. Half of the Five Gods are former members of the guild. I myself am the very epitome of a traitor. I'm one of the founders, and yet I left the guild first!" Cana stepped back, shocked. Yury turned back around to face Mavis.

"Look what happened to this wondrous place you promised to build. Only a few years after its founding, we found ourselves in the middle of a war. 10 years after its creation, your curse came to fruition, killing my wife. And what did you do? You fled, like a coward. A mere four years later, I came across Zeref and he told me everything. And every part of it spoke to my very being. It was a better place to be than this failed dream. Eventually, Precht left too, going on to become the leader of one of the most powerful Dark Guilds in the world! You couldn't even stop Makarov, your own godson who you named, from sacrificing himself to save you. He did it because you couldn't. Because you don't have the strength to do anything for yourself."

Mavis' mind was breaking. Was all of this really true?

"Do you know why I was angry with you for killing Rita? Not because of the act itself, or because you ran away, but because you didn't heed Zeref's warning. He told you about your curse beforehand. He told you that for the sake of those around you, you should have left. And what did you do? You ignored it, like an ignorant fool. You are nothing but a child, Mavis Vermilion. A child who believes that the world revolves around her and her so-called 'family'. And I wasn't the only one. 64 years later, another powerful mage realized that Alvarez's motives were more noble than her own guild. She lied to you and spent the next 13 years working for us before leaving everything behind to join for good. And guess what? In the year X774, another former mage of your guild is killed, and upon his revival, he is told about our motives, and joins us. Why don't you face it? This dream that you started, to make sure that people had a home to come back to, drove off 5 of its most precious and important members, including yourself. But did you stay gone? No, you went back and continued your pointless charade."

Mavis fell backwards, her eyes wide open and the color drained from them. Yury walked forward and stood over her.

"Do your friends see you for what you are now? A broken and defenseless little girl that can't protect anything? Your own child is a member of the Spriggan 12."

"..."

"Are you even aware that one of your key members is one of your greatest enemies? No, I suppose not. You were never one to look beyond the surface of a situation."

"I don't really think that you're one to talk." Gildarts walked forward and glared at him.

"Gildarts…" Cana muttered sadly.

"If you realized these problems, then why didn't you stay with the guild to fix them? Why not prevent anyone from leaving?"

"What good would that have done? I wasn't the master, and Precht was on the path to becoming a Dark Mage anyhow. I wouldn't be around forever. Besides, you're not really one to talk either. Didn't you try to stop Layla from leaving as well? Or is that cold stormy night in X777 too repressed for you to bring up again?"

"Kh…."

"You tried the same thing, did you not? To stop Deliora? But you were too late, weren't you? And when Layla told you that she had no place on this continent anymore, you chased after her, and look where it got you. Unconscious and beaten within an inch of your life. Light God's Blade." Yury formed one of his light swords before tossing it up in the air and catching the hilt in his hand, holding it downward over the girl's motionless body.

"NO, STOP!" Gildarts rushed behind the former founder, but Yury created another sword in his other hand that he quickly thrust backwards, impaling the S-Class Wizard in the chest, making him fall over.

"FATHER!" Cana shrieked.

"And now for the finale. So long. See you never." Yury thrust the blade downwards.

 **X**

'...Is it really true? Did I do all of this for nothing? Was I…..wrong?' Mavis' eyes slowly fluttered open halfway.

"To have a home to come back to...and what good was it if they never came back to it? So stupid…."

"You're going to believe him so easily? I thought you were better than that." said a very deep voice.

"...?" Mavis floated upright and looked around herself. There was nothing. Nothing but a dark red empty void of space.

"Who...are you….? Where am I?"

"You're dead. Yury killed you. As for who I am...you know, don't you?" A middle-aged man wearing a dark cloak floated down in front of her. He had black hair and a thin beard.

"Can't you feel the type of magic power I possess?"

"It's like mine….are you…?"

"That's right. I am Ankhseram. This is my human form that I take."

"You said I was...dead?"

"Yes. For the time being. You have a choice. When someone dies, their brain stays active for 8 minutes before shutting down. Meaning that you have the capability of coming back to life, if you choose."

"...I don't."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm starting to think that they'll all be better off without me. Yury was right. A lot of this is my fault. Perhaps if I hadn't acted like such a child, then we wouldn't be in this mess...Rita might have been saved, he and Precht wouldn't have left, and Layla and Silver would still be with us…"

"...What happened to your confidence? Are you one to accept someone else's reasoning so easily without questioning it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that not all of what he's saying is the truth. This is a mind game that he's playing with you. Had Yury stayed with Fairy Tail, he would have been sought out by Zeref anyway."

"What…?"

"I'm sure that you've heard of them by now. The Five Gods of Alakitasia. Yury is one of them."

"Yes, I knew that…But what does that have to do with what you said?"

"Did Layla ever mention her mother while you were still captured by them?"

"Yes. She said her name was Isabella, if I recall."

"That's right. The truth is, Zeref planned this invasion a long time ago. But he was unable to go through with it, as a single mage stood in his path and dwarfed the entire empire's military force, even with Yury on his side. That mage was Isabella Heartfilia."

"What?! That's impossible…Maybe you haven't seen how strong Yury is-"

"I know how strong the five gods are. Let me give you a comparison. Isabella in her base form is 3 times stronger than Yury's God Soul."

"What…..?" she muttered, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"That's right. Her power prevented Zeref from doing anything, as she said she would do everything in her power to stop him. So he turned around and began to rethink his strategy. He came to the conclusion that if he was going to fight against her again, then he would need as many of the Gods' descendants as he could get. That is why he pursued Eileen, Layla, and Silver. Even if Yury had not joined him when he did, he would have been sought out eventually, in order to stand up against Isabella."

"But he would have been long dead by this time. Even if he lived as old as Makarov did, he still would have died around the end of the X760s."

"Zeref already knew about his then dormant powers when he first met you. He would have went after him while he was still alive. Similar to yourself, he taught Yury Law, and he used it, becoming immortal. Why do you think Zeref decided to teach you magic in the first place?"

"Because he could sense Yury's power!" she gasped.

"That's right. Another like him. Another descendant of the Five Main Primordials. After 300 years of searching, he had found another like himself. But Yury wasn't the only one."

"Huh?"

"Zeref sensed that kind of power inside of you too."

"...You mean…..I'm a God? Like them?"

"That's right. Yours is a different situation. You're more like Dimaria then those five."

"Wait a minute...didn't you say we only have 8 minutes before I really die?"

"I willed you to be here. I have control over this dimension. Time moves much faster here than the real world. So you still have a long time."

"I see….But what do you mean by a different situation?"

"The Five Gods...that is, the real Gods: Gaia, Uranus, Erebus, Aether, and Nyx, assigned themselves to certain bloodlines. They decided that their choices to inherit their power would only be from within these families. As you can probably figure out, these five families are the Fullbusters, Belserions, Dragneels, Dreyars, and Heartfilias. Of all the descendants, these five are the strongest. Other descendants, like yourself and Dimaria, are chosen with certain conditions as well, but they are much less specific, and the choice could be anybody, they didn't have to come from a particular family. For example, in Dimaria's case, Chronos chose her because her family worshipped him, and because she was particularly adept in Age Seal Magic, one that he was very masterful with. In your case, well...you have a strong capacity for my magic." he smirked.

"Huh?" 

"You are my descendant, Mavis. You are a Goddess of Death." She started to tear up.

"You mean I go around bringing death to everyone?" she sobbed.

"No, not at all. You use it for good, clearly. Which is why I'm somewhat amazed. Look at Zeref, Layla, Yury, and Vera. While they may not be bad people at heart, they clearly use their powers for domination and war. You, however, managed to control your powers without a physical body, something that none of the others could do. They needed a cure, while you did not. You even transferred that knowledge over to your real body once you got it back. I've been keeping a close eye on you ever since you first learned this magic. And I believe you're ready for the full mastery over it."

"You mean there's more?"

"Of course. Zeref tries to use his magic as little as possible, so he doesn't know everything, and the others only know what he taught them. I'm going to teach you the next level."

"Will there be a stronger curse that comes with them?"

"No. You've already overcome the curse. You should be able to control it. You're going to receive the full extent of my magic as well as your own God Soul." He placed his hand on her head.

"A...God Soul?"

"Yes. But only use it as a last resort. Unlike the others, this will be your first time using it, so the duration will be pretty short, probably only about 10 minutes or so. The others trained in their God Soul forms, gradually increasing the duration. Try not to die."

"One more question. Why are you helping me? Why help me come back to life?"

"Yury is a descendant of the God of Light. I represent the opposite of him. Just like you. We are darkness. Natural enemies."

"...I see."

"Are you ready to return?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them with a determined look on her face.

"Yes." She was surrounded in a column of black light before disappearing.

 **X**

'...If I can just...reach it...there!' Erza stomped her foot down on her sword's handle, making it spin up into the air. She caught it with her mouth and sliced up the trees that were holding her.

"Wendy...don't you worry. I'll make quick work of her."

"'Quick work', you say? Please, spare me your foolish jokes. Or have you forgotten? You stand before a magic power which has lived on for 400 years!" She raised her hand and swiped it sideways, creating a large explosion that obliterated the area. Erza dodged by jumping up in the air. Eileen created 4 wormholes that shot rays of light towards her. Erza increased her speed in order to not get hit. After dodging them, she landed back on the ground.

"Even though I protected you for 400 years at my own expense…when you were finally born, you weren't of use to me in the slightest! Will you continue to stand in the way of my happiness to the bitter end?!" She sliced through the ruins that Erza was running across.

"I understand your misfortune. But...I cannot afford to lose!" She sliced towards her mother, who blocked the attack and deflected it back at her.

"And just what do you think you understand about my misfortune?!"

"In that village where you abandoned me, I was captured…and for the next several years, I was enslaved by a religious cult. But I suppose, compared to the 400 years you endured, it may not be all that tragic. And besides, it's because of everything you did back then that I am how I am now." She rushed towards her again, preparing another attack.

"And I was able to find people who I hold dear. I was able to overcome whatever cruel, painful situations arose because I had my friends at my side!"

"Quit sugarcoating things! I despise your entire existence! I wish that you were never born! DIE DIE DIE! VANISH FOR ALL ETERNITY!" She screamed, beginning to transform.

"Wha-?!" Eileen's clothes were shredded to pieces as she became covered in dragon scales and attacked Erza with her claw, sending her flying. She put her hand down on the ground, recovering in a crouching position. Eileen transformed further, becoming her full dragon form.

"A dragon…?!"

"Who needs a God Soul when this form is enough to crush you?" she snarled, raising a claw and swiping at Erza, crushing her left side, and sending her reeling back across the ground, causing it to crack and fissure.

'My...my bones were...shattered in a...single blow…'

"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked.

"You can no longer move. As the Sage Dragon, I can amplify the power of my enchantments even further...to the very pinnacle of high-enchantments...the Master Enchantment."

"Ughh…"

"This power transcends the lands, skies, and seas...it is an enchantment of heavenly bodies themselves. Bear witness to the power that Layla taught me!"

'I...I can't...move my body…'

"Now...be crushed to pieces without a single trace remaining! ERZAAAAAA! DEUS SEMA!" She willed a giant meteor to fall and crash towards the earth. The clouds began to swirl around and form a vortex.

"Th...this cannot be…"

'A higher ranked version of Jellal's magic! If I'm hit by this, I'll die for sure...No...It'll be more than just me…! All of the people on the battlefield will...Damn it! Move! Move, I beg of you! My body…!'

"The is the end, Erza!"

'I can still move my right hand! It's all or nothing!' She used requip on her hand and launched herself up in the air, towards the meteor.

"HAAAAAAA!"

"You're planning on ramming yourself into the meteorite?! How stupid can one child possibly be?! There's no possible way...a mere human could ever stop a meteorite!"

"Before I even realized it, I became known as 'Titania'. To be honest...I had little interest in what the masses called me, but…If you are the Queen of Dragons, then...me being Titania, Queen of the Fairies, doesn't sound so bad either. A queen is one who protects and is loved by all! EVEN IF MY VERY BONES TURN TO DUST, I WILL PROTECT EVERYONE NO MATTER THE COST! MASTER! LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!

'What is she doing? Stupid girl…'

 **X**

" _Mmh…." Lucy slowly woke up, but did not find herself next to Natsu as she remembered. Instead, she was in a large, comfortable bed. This wasn't her bedroom either. It was much nicer, almost to the degree of royalty. She stood up and got dressed, walking outside into a large hallway._

" _Where am I? I must be dreaming…"_

" _Indeed." She looked to one end of the hall where her younger step-sister stood._

" _Vera…"_

" _Hey, Luce!" she walked up to her._

" _What are you doing here?"_

" _This is a dream to help you, Lucy. To help you understand the context of what's going on in this war."_

" _What...do you mean? I understand what's going on! Alvarez is trying to invade us, and we're trying to stop them!"_

" _It's not that simple. Our grandmother put this together. She's controlling this dream so that you can better understand everyone's motives. She thinks that you Fairy Tail members are looking at this war too 'black and white.'"_

" _...Okay…?"_

" _This will explain a lot of things that you're wondering about, Lucy."_

" _Oh, okay. You should have said that in the first place."_

" _I'm not the only one that will be helping you, but I'll start it off with Mom's life after joining Alvarez. Follow me." She began walking down the hall while Lucy followed her._

" _From your point of view, Mom contracted MDD at a young age and passed away soon after, in the year X777. But now that you've met her and know bits and pieces of the truth, you know that in actuality, that's the year that she cured herself and left for Alvarez." Vera opened a door at the end of the hallway that led to a large empty room save for a few large paintings on the wall and another door at the other side._

" _At the time, Mom had grown apart from your father Jude, and had instead fallen for Zeref, my dad. Being one of the Five Gods given powers from the primordials, Dad confessed that he had fallen in love with her as well, and proposed that she come along with him to Alvarez and help him lead the empire. He did not force her, but she came willingly nonetheless. She thought it would be best if she faked her death so that no one would question how she suddenly got better or why she left. She left you a letter, which I assume you found?"_

" _Yes. About a week ago, I went to my old house and found it."_

" _Other than you, the only person that knew about this was Uncle Silver, who was already involved with Tartaros by that point. Although…" She pointed to one of the paintings on the wall. A long, landscape-style one that portrayed Layla and Gildarts preparing to fight each other._

" _Gildarts?!" Lucy said, shocked._

" _Somehow, Gildarts had figured out that she lied, and pursued her to the edge of the continent to stop her from crossing into Alakitasia. They fought, but I'm sure you can guess the outcome…"_

" _He must have lost, otherwise Mom would still be over here…"_

" _That's right. But in fact, because of their history together, neither of them could bring themselves to kill the other. I suppose that's a good thing, in hindsight."_

" _Mm…" Lucy groaned._

" _Gildarts decided that he would keep her actions and recovery secret, which was a smart move. If he had told your Guildmaster, everyone probably would have tried to get her back, and been vanquished in the process. He didn't want to tell you either, fearing that you might do the same."_

" _I guess I can understand that…I probably would have done that…"_

" _In any case, as much as she wanted to bring you with her, she didn't want you involved in any business concerning Dark Guilds or the Empire's militia. She had to leave you here so that you wouldn't grow up to be, well...someone like her...as she put it…."_

' _Mom….'_

" _At first, she was reluctant to have another child, as she felt that you couldn't be replaced. But eventually, the loneliness got to her, and she convinced Zeref that they needed to have one to make things more lively around the palace, and to enjoy being a family again."_

" _And so you were born, right?"_

" _That's right. September 6, X778 is my birthday. But you shouldn't feel as if she abandoned you, Lucy. She told me stories all about you when I was little and how she wished that you could be with us to play and have fun. But she still didn't want you to join Alvarez, no matter what. She said it wasn't up for discussion."_

" _She didn't want me to become affiliated with some of your officers?"_

" _Most of them are warm and kind, at least when they're not on the battlefield. Uncle Yury's a bit of a stern one but he would never do anything to harm us. I mean, there are a few that come to mind from the Spriggan 12 that are rather violent in nature, but I don't think you would be too different from the way you are now. There was another reason."_

" _And that is…?"_

" _Mom figured that you would end up in Fairy Tail at some point or another given the circumstances. First of all, you were a mage. Second, Gildarts, Makarov, Laxus, and Mystogan all knew about you. And third, she knew that you idolized that place coincidentally, even if you didn't know that she was a former member. She also knew that this war was inevitable, and as such, if she had taken you with her, you would have had to fight against your old home, and the people that were heroes to you."_

" _But isn't that what she's doing?!" Lucy sobbed._

" _I thought so too, at first. But in reality, there are only a few in the guild that she still has feelings for. And those are Gildarts, her former comrade and friend, and her two former students, Laxus and Mystogan. She also knew that Mystogan was from Edolas, and didn't expect him to make an appearance during this war. And while she did contribute to a lot of roadblocks that you and your friends had to overcome, she never intended to kill any of you. But the way that she puts it, she no longer has any ties to Ishgar. Other than you four, everyone that she holds dear is over with us. That's all I have to say."_

" _...Thank you for the knowledge." Vera nodded before she disappeared in a wave of darkness. Lucy looked at the paintings one more time before walking up to the other door and opening it, revealing a longer, wider hallway. She walked through and closed the door behind her before seeing her mother leaning against a nearby wall with her arms crossed, looking up at the ceiling._

" _Mom!"_

" _Huh? Oh, Lucy!" Layla stood up straight and walked towards her daughter._

" _Come here." Lucy was reluctant at first._

" _Lucy, we're the only ones here. You don't have to put up the charade any longer, come give me a hug." she smiled warmly. Lucy started to tear up before running to her and embracing her._

" _That's it." They stayed there for a few minutes before Lucy let go._

" _I'm sorry that this is just a dream…"_

" _No, it's okay. I know that the real thing will be even better." the young girl smiled, her face now red from crying._

" _Well, we don't have all day. Let's get going." She turned and started to walk down the new hallway with Lucy walking right next to her._

" _Can I ask you something first?"_

" _Of course."_

" _Where are we, exactly?"_

" _This is my mother's castle. These are the bedrooms, on the 7th floor, the top one."_

" _Grandma's...castle?"_

" _That's right. She has her own palace, not unlike Mercurius, or Vistarion."_

" _And you don't think it might be a little much? My bedroom was one of the guest ones, and it was something I'd expect to see from Princess Hisui."_

" _You are royalty." Layla chuckled. "As it stands now, you and Natsu are the heirs apparent to lead Alvarez should something happen to both Zeref and myself."_

" _Wait, WHAT?!" she blushed even further._

" _You are my oldest child, and while Rahkeid is also Zeref's oldest, it would be rather strange and somewhat inappropriate to have two step-siblings lead, would it not?"_

" _I mean, not necessarily. The Emperor and Empress don't have to be married, right?"_

" _No, but it's tradition in a lot of other countries, ours included, that if an Emperor and Empress rule together, they should be married. And, it's also probably more relieving to the public that way. It's strange for them to not see the two rulers as a couple."_

" _But I've never even met-"_

" _I know, but that doesn't mean you're not related. At least not by blood. But because I'm married to Zeref, that means that he's technically your step-father, and thus Rahkeid is your step-brother, just like Vera is your step-sister. It would be weird. And Zeref announced that Natsu's next in line anyway. Besides, look at the two of you. You're already sleeping naked, who's to say you won't get married and fu-"_

" _MOM!" Lucy screeched, steam pouring out of her ears and off her head._

" _Too far?" she laughed. "In any case, Lucy, Vera told you a little bit about my time after joining Alvarez, so I'm here to tell you about when I was in Fairy Tail leading up to when I departed." She walked up to a door that opened up, leading into a larger room than the last one. Again, portraits lined the walls._

" _I suppose we'll start here." She pointed to a painting of a teenage Layla lying under the shade of a tree in South Gate Park, while a teenage Silver was on the opposite side of it, reading a book._

" _Silver and I had grown up in the same hometown, and until I met my other friends, he was the first one not to fear me for the destructive potential my powers had. Instead, he introduced himself to me, and said not to worry, as he was just like myself. We started learning magic together, either from my mother at my house, or from his father at his. Then, everything changed. One night in X756, a few mages from a neighboring town passed through at night. They were drunk, and one of them still had a full bottle with him. As they passed by my house, they blacked out, and the bottle of alcohol spilled all over my front lawn, before one of the others' cigarette fell out of his mouth, setting our property aflame. It didn't take long before it reached our house. Silver's father did put out the fire on the lawn before my parents hurried me to safety. But just as I was out of the house, the rest of it collapsed on them, seemingly killing both of them. His family invited me to live with them, which I accepted, but only for a few weeks. Silver left with me to go join Fairy Tail, which was only a few towns away. We practiced our magic on the way there before arriving in Magnolia Town. We met with Master, who took us in, and we studied under him. Before long, we were recommended for the S-Class Exam, and became the youngest in the guild's history to become S-Class wizards. We formed a team with Gildarts, and were extremely successful in all of our endeavors, despite the fact that he and I often got on each other's nerves." she laughed, rubbing the back of her head._

" _Sounds just like someone else I know…" Lucy mumbled._

" _When Laxus and Mystogan began to study magic, Master assigned me to be their teacher, as he didn't want to spend all of his time training them."_

" _So then you were responsible for teaching them magic?"_

" _That's right. And considering that both of them turned out to be S-Class, I'd say that I was pretty damn good, even though it was my first time teaching anyone. But here comes the real plot." She now walked over to the next painting, which was of her standing in a room with Zeref and Yury. Zeref looked like he was explaining something._

" _In the year X761, I was hired to do a Century Quest by Yury, who signed it as God Serena. The description simply said to wait at my apartment, and he'd come and speak to me about the task in person. That next day, he arrived with Zeref. The two of them had explained to me that in accordance with the plan that he devised with my ancestor Anna, I was to open the Eclipse Gate on the day of July 7th, X777, and let five young dragon slayers into the future, creating a countermeasure for defeating Acnologia. This probably isn't news to you at this point."_

" _No. You've mentioned it a few times now. Those five were Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting and Rogue, right?"_

" _Correct. While my magic power was already quite impressive at the time, it wasn't strong enough to open the gate all on my own, even though I owned all of the Zodiac Keys. So in order to make me strong enough to do that, the two said that they'd train me over the next 16 years, and make me strong enough to do it."_

" _Did you really need 16 years? That seems like a long time?"_

" _Well, look how much it took out of you and Yukino, two powerful mages in your own rights, with all 12 helping you. And that's with two people. This was something I was required to do on my own. I informed my friends at Fairy Tail that the mission I was going on was going to take a few years, only telling Silver the truth. I then left for Alakitasia, where Zeref trained me in the Black Arts, and Yury trained me in Fire Devil Slaying Magic, the three Great Fairy Magics, Satan Soul, and my God Magic and God Soul." She walked across to the other side of the room, where there was a painting that showed her on the ground with Yury standing over her._

" _It looks like it was a lot of work." Lucy looked in awe._

" _I was beaten every day. After 3 years, I mastered the Black Arts, raising my magic power a considerable amount, but with another challenge presenting itself."_

" _And that being?"_

" _My magic power was a bright yellow and felt happy and warm to anyone who could sense it before, as the only two magics I knew prior to this training were Celestial and Heavenly Body. But with the Black Arts, my magic power began to turn darker in color, and felt cold and threatening. As such, that same year, X764, I had no choice but to give up ownership of my Zodiac Keys. If they had stayed in my possession, my magical energy would have forced them into Eclipse Form with no hope of returning them to their original state. I spread them out over the world, giving them to various friends that I had met during some other missions. I informed them that I would need the keys back on July 7th, but that they were theirs from then on. This also presented another, harder thing that I needed to do."_

" _...Oh! Was it…?"_

" _Leave Fairy Tail, yes. If my magic power was now darker, it would be easy for someone like Makarov or Gildarts to notice. I had to lie to them, saying that I had contracted Magic Deficiency Disease, and that I would slowly perish, so I needed to stop using up magic power. Thus, I needed to stop performing mage work. It was around that time that I met Jude, and started dating him. He was a merchant, and worked at Love & Lucky, a harmless job. So in my free time, I aided him there. But still, I would spend most of my days in Vistarion, continuing to train. Jude and I got married in X766, and of course, a year later, you were born. Granted, while I was pregnant, I didn't train with Yury, I studied and researched various phenomenons with Zeref instead. It was during this time that I created a cure for both the Black Arts and Magical Deficiency Disease. While I was able to cure Yury and myself, I could not cure Zeref, as his curse was bestowed upon him by a god, while ours was taught to us. I did take care of you while you were very young, but by the time that you were a toddler, I left you to our employees while I once again went off to fight. That brings us to X774. A very important year to me."_

" _What happened?" Lucy asked cautiously._

" _Well, for starters, that's the year that I finally defeated Yury in our duels. I had nothing left to learn and had become the most powerful mage on the planet. I was strong enough to open the gate on my own. But the powers began to seem pointless to me, for a time."_

" _How come?" she began to get worried._

" _X774 is the year that Silver and Mika were killed by Deliora, and the year that Gray joined Fairy Tail."_

" _Oh no…" Layla sat down on the floor now, with Lucy sitting next to her._

" _It wasn't something that I was expecting at all. One day, Gildarts just showed up at our estate, and said that despite his magic ability, Deliora overwhelmed him and killed Mika as well. My best friend since childhood, the first person who really accepted me, had just lost his life, and I wasn't even aware of it."_

" _Oh, Mom…" Lucy laid her head against her mother's shoulder._

" _Now...I wasn't going to accept that. And so I decided to do something drastic. I asked Zeref to bring me to Tartaros, and I convinced Keyes, their Necromancer, to bring Silver back from the dead. Keyes' magic was not as strong as Silver's even when he was alive, and so Silver only had a temporary body, and his strength was cut down to ⅓ of his normal ability. But nonetheless, he was as strong as one of the Demon Gates, and decided to join them after we told him what happened."_

" _But what about Gray?"_

" _We decided to leave that little detail out. If Gray were to meet his father again after such a long time, it would bring repressed memories back to the surface. We didn't want that to happen. Over the next year, I frequently visited Tartaros' headquarters, and learned Necromancy from Keyes, while also becoming close friends with Seilah and telling Silver about Alvarez's motives. This is also when I began to realize that your father and I had grew apart and that I had instead fallen in love with Zeref, a man I spent more and more time with over the years. But there was also something else that we did. While I was there, I told Silver and Seilah about Alvarez's motives, and they agreed to join me after their fight with you. Of course, both of them died. I revived Silver again, giving him a permanent body and his full strength this time, but couldn't revive Seilah, due to the fact that Mira used Take Over on her to prevent her from dying."_

" _So you had already planned for this years ahead of time."_

" _That's right. I also attended the meeting that founded the Balam Alliance, but because our goals only aligned with Tartaros, we didn't join. Before long, the fated day had come. July 7th, X777. I purposely sent you off into the city for the weekend, while August and Zeref transported the gate into the back gardens, and my friends sent me back all of the keys, save for Aquarias."_

" _That was Brandish's mother, right?"_

" _Yes. Because of this, it made it much harder to open the gate than it originally would have. I had to substitute my own magic power for Aquarias, and actually fell ill with MDD after I successfully opened and closed it. A fact which I'm sure you remember quite well."_

" _Yes."_

" _The doctor predicted that it was fatal and that I would probably pass away by the end of the year. But Zeref and August wouldn't let that happen. They used my recipe for a cure to create one and cure me two days later, saying that I would be better in a week or so. But that I had a choice to make."_

" _Join them?"_

" _If I was to leave with them, I would have to do it in a few days, as it might cause suspicion if I suddenly got better and then faked my death. I had to do it while it was still believable. I didn't have to, of course. They told me that if I preferred to stay with you, then so be it. They also said that I was welcome to bring you along with me, but I didn't want to. I wouldn't let you, my pride and joy, become one of us. That night, I decided to leave. I packed a few things, said goodbye, and set off with Zeref. I also took the money that I had earned from Yury for completing the quest. That's probably what started to put Jude in debt, as what I took was about 45 million jewels."_

" _I-I'm sorry, how much?" Lucy couldn't believe her ears._

" _It was a lot. As you can imagine, if that suddenly disappeared, the business would begin to crumble. While on the way to the port to cross over to Alakitasia, Gildarts tried to stop me, but I told him that I needed to go."_

" _And you defeated him…"_

" _Thankfully, he decided to leave our confrontation secret, though he did know the truth. I'm also happy that he didn't tell you about me until we finally became a primary threat. But that's how, Lucy. That's how I came to join them."_

" _I see…But what about why you joined?"_

" _That's not my job to say. You'll find that out next. I love you." She kissed Lucy goodbye before disappearing. The blonde girl stood up and went to the next door before slowly turning the knob. On the other side stood a hallway that was colored purple, instead of the dark blue from the previous two. Standing opposite of her was her grandmother, Isabella._

" _G-Grandma?"_

" _Don't call me that, it makes me feel old." she sighed._

" _U-Um, I'm sorry!" The last thing she wanted to do was make this woman mad, even if this was only a dream_

" _Don't worry dear, I'm not going to hurt you." She walked over and patted her granddaughter on the head._

" _Well then...what should I call you?"_

" _Just call me by my first name, Isabella." she shrugged._

" _Okay…What are you here to tell me?"_

" _I'm here to tell you about Layla's childhood as well as my experiences with Alvarez." She began walking down the hall and into another room, again larger than the last, with more paintings on the wall._

" _After that night that our house burned down, I believed that myself and my husband Henry had perished. But I was wrong." She pointed to a painting that portrayed her talking with Nyx._

" _The next thing I knew, I was here, in this palace, speaking with Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night."_

" _The one in that painting?"_

" _Yes. She explained to me that since the time I was a baby, my magic power had a very special quality to it. It wasn't light or dark like everyone else in the world. It was a mix of both: chaotic. Nyx had explained to me that she and Erebus, the first two gods, were created from Chaos, the primordial void. Chaos is the most powerful entity to ever exist, but it does not have a physical body. Chaos watches over the world, and knows everything that happens, but cannot prevent anything, because it does not have a physical form. Because of this, Nyx had been searching for someone with a compatible magic power for a long time, but was unsuccessful until I came along. Chaos had transferred all of its remaining power into me, preventing me from dying, because I was now immortal. And with it, I gained access to powers that no one could ever comprehend."_

" _Like what you did before."_

" _I can literally do anything, Lucy. Chaos is the beginning of all things, and as such, I have the power to control everything. I can do something as simple as manifesting a glass of wine in my hands, or something like make someone explode with the snap of my fingers, as you saw when I first met you."_

" _..."_

" _Thanks to this magic, my magic power was multiplied to new heights far beyond comprehension. Nyx had explained to me that my first job was to stop Alvarez's invasion of Ishgar. Zeref founded his empire roughly 100 years ago, and Yury became his first officer of the Spriggan 12. They recruited August soon after. So even with 3 commanders, his military might was already astounding. In X757, he brought his invading force over, yet I stood in their way to stop them. Mages blessed with the power of those five are said to cause either great calamity or bring peace to the world during their lifetimes. But the five gods themselves feared that with Zeref and Yury teaming up, that they would inevitably seek out the other three as well, and form a force that would have the power to destroy the world. And so they needed someone to inherit Chaos' power to try and prevent the invasion."_

" _And so you went out there?" She waved Lucy over to another painting that portrayed Isabella facing towards multiple ships in a port._

" _I warned him to turn back, and he complied, being able to sense my power."_

" _So then why are they back after all this time? Don't they know that you're still here?"_

" _At the time, Zeref and Yury were the only ones associated with Alvarez. He did not give up on his invasion, and decided that if he was going to have to fight against me, he would have to get as many other gods as he could. With Layla and Silver being gods themselves, it was only a matter of time before they came into contact with him. Eileen as well would meet him before leaving to join him in Alvarez. And eventually, Dimaria would join him as well. Which brings me to that part of the story." She brought Lucy to another portrait that showed a young Dimaria and her people bowing down to Isabella._

" _Somehow, they had discovered that I was still alive, and knew of the powers I possessed. As they pray to the god Chronos, he contacted me and said that they had someone who wanted to prove that she could serve as my assistant. I went to see them, curious about who it was. As it turns out, it was Dimaria, a young girl at the time. She had proven to be quite capable in Age Seal Magic, one that manipulates time, and was chosen by Chronos to be the inheritor of his powers, so she could use God Soul. But alas, her potential wasn't enough to help me stop Alvarez, as she would have lost to one of the commanders anyhow. I decided that it was better for her to not come with me, and to help her people as she could."_

" _She seems to hate you for denying her."_

" _Does she? That doesn't surprise me. For a lot of them, they thought that this would let them become eventual rulers of Alvarez, able to overthrow the empire, as they knew I could wipe them out with a wave of my hand. They thought that they'd be able to serve me by ruling over the kingdom so that I wouldn't have to myself. But I had no intentions to do that from the start anyways. I rule over Olympus, this dimension, and that is the only one that I ever want to be in charge of. Your mother can rule Alvarez for all I care, and she seems to be quite satisfied with that job."_

" _This place is...Olympus? Like, THE Olympus?!"_

" _Where else would gods rule?"_

" _I don't know, I just always thought it was a mythical place!"_

" _I thought so too, until my mother told me about how the 5 Gods choose families."_

" _Choose...families?"_

" _That's not my department to tell you. But what I can tell you is that I don't have any intention of harming my family in this war. You, Layla, and Vera will all have rooms in this palace. And if you'd like, I can try to spare Natsu for you as well, so you can have someone to fu-"_

" _JUST STOP!" she screamed, steam bursting out of her ears. "You're just like mom!" her face looked like she was a volcano that just erupted._

" _She's right, it's so much fun to tease you." Isabella laughed before kissing Lucy on the forehead. She disappeared into black and purple particles. Lucy took another look at the paintings before opening the next door. A woman she didn't recognize stood in a new hallway that was colored black. She wore a black dress and had a voluptuous figure, like most other Heartfilia women, but had long black hair instead of blonde._

" _...Um...who are…."_

" _Oh, that's right. You've probably never seen a picture of me either...my name is Victoria Heartfilia. I'm your Great Grandmother."_

 **End.**

 **For Reference, here's how old the Heartfilia Women would be:**

 **Vera: Birthday is September 6, X778, so she's 14, but can change her appearance to make herself older or younger at will.**

 **Lucy: Birthday is in X767, so she's supposed to be 25. But because of Fairy Sphere, she's 18 because of the 7 year timeskip.**

 **Layla: Birthday is in X748, so she's 44. Thanks to her genes, she looks more like in her late 20s.**

 **Isabella: Birthday is in X723, so she's 69. But thanks to her immortality, she looks like she's in her early 30s.**

 **Victoria: Birthday is in X697, so she's 95. She passed away in X770 at the age of 73. Appears as mid 20s.**

 **Anna: Birthday is in X300s, making her around 400. Passed away probably in late X300s or early X400s. Will appear at late 20s.**

 **Nyx: Birthday is X1, making her 791. Immortal, but always appears in late 20s.**


	16. Selfish Causes

**Can I just say, before I start this, that like a lot of other readers, I thought that Erza's "win" against Eileen was stupid. First of all, in the previous chapter, she had both legs and one arm broken, and could still launch herself up into the air. Second, she was able to destroy a meteor that was supposed to be stronger and larger than Jellal's with sheer willpower alone. Lastly, Wendy was supposed to be unconscious, but awakened just in time to be able to enchant Erza's sword with Dragon Slayer Magic, which was able to almost slice Eileen in half. Erza is not a Dragon Slayer, and the real Dragon Slayers had trouble with dragons after the Grand Magic Games. Granted, Eileen is not a natural born dragon, but she was supposed to be stronger than most of them, being the Queen. After all, she was able to fight Acnologia on par in their human forms. And then she still was able to headbutt her mother. The ending to chapter 519 was good, with Eileen committing suicide, and was definitely surprising and a nice twist. But by the time I got to the end of the chapter, I was so sick of Erza performing miracle after miracle that I actually was hoping that Eileen would win once and for all. It's bad, I know, but she definitely could have, had she not decided to stab herself. She was the last one standing. Actually, the whole fight was somewhat questionable. Considering that it took Yukino, Sorano, Kagura, Rogue, and Sting just to barely defeat Rahkeid, it should have taken more than just Erza and Wendy, who is rather inexperienced compared to the other Dragon slayers, to defeat someone stronger than the Prince of Alvarez. Since August is more or less the only important member of the 12 left, I'm hoping Mashima doesn't just make Gildarts or someone defeat him on their own, considering that the man defeated all of Crime Sorciere and didn't get a scratch. I can assure you that in the final battles with Layla and Isabella, I will not have the heroes win for a long while. Okay, end of rant. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Erza vs. Eileen: Total War of Anger (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Eileen's Death: Birth of Fairy Tail (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Isabella Absorbs Eileen's Power: The Celestial Spirit King Summoned (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Victoria's Lullaby: Dearly Beloved (Kingdom Hearts OST) [AmaLee's Version]**

 **Natsu and Igneel's Ending: Eternal Friends (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Silver vs. Isabella: Silver's Raid (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Silver's God Soul: Madara Uchiha's Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST) [There's two different versions of a theme for him. Make sure it's the one from the OST, not the fan-made one called "The God Awakened"]**

 **God Soul Silver vs. Isabella: Waltz of Wind and Blaze (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Isabella Regains the Advantage: The Ruler (One Punch Man OST)**

 **Isabella's Speech: The Truth is Revealed (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Isabella Controls Layla: Crossing the Styx (Dante's Inferno OST)**

Silver had long since left where Lucy and the others were hiding out. He had grown bored, and said that he would go out and explore while waiting for Gray and Juvia to be well enough to fight again. He had already passed through most of the town before coming up by a familiar entertainment club. It was obviously closed now because of the invasion, but he still remembered this place.

 _ **X770**_

 _It had been 5 years now since Layla left Fairy Tail and joined Love & Lucky, and 3 years now since she left that one. She was now 22 years old. Lucy was only 3 years old, and Layla had just recently left her at home in Jude's care for the first time since she was born. She was ready to go back to Alvarez, and had a few days ago. In an unexpected turn of events, Gildarts asked her to go on a mission with him and Silver. To his surprise, she said yes. She thought it was good to do a job with those two again. She arrived in Magnolia about an hour earlier than their agreed meeting up time and walked around the shopping district._

" _...Huh? That's Gildarts' magic power. I'd recognize that anywhere." She started following it to see where it would lead her before coming to a club called "Magical Pleasure." She looked at a new sign posted on the front window that read "Smoking now allowed."_

" _...You've got to be shitting me." she mumbled, walking in. She looked around before finding Gildarts sitting down in the back. Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz was playing throughout the place. She walked up to him and crossed her arms._

" _Un-fucking-believable. An hour to go before we leave, and you're here smoking Hookah." She raised an eyebrow while Gildarts inhaled and looked up at her._

" _Oh, hey. Want some?" he asked, handing the tube towards her. She sighed and sat down, taking it in her hands, but not using it._

" _I never thought of you as a smoker."_

" _I'm not. I only smoke a few times a month."_

" _Oh."_

" _Besides, you've done it more than a few times with me."_

" _I haven't smoked since before I was pregnant."_

" _That's four years now. You sure you don't want some?"_

 _She took a long hard look at it before looking up, defeated. She put the tube to her soft lips before inhaling deeply, blowing out smoke, and handing it back to Gildarts._

" _Ahh...I forgot how much I used to like this…" she sighed._

" _It's nice, isn't it? But that being said, I was gonna wrap this up and go meet with Silver. Want to come?"_

" _Yeah...one more time." she opened and closed her hand, outstretched to her friend._

" _You naughty girl…" he laughed, handing it to her._

" _Shut the fuck up. And the only one who can call me that is my husband." she taunted. She smoked one more time before handing it back._

" _Honestly, you two. You'll never change" Silver suddenly appeared behind them with a small gust of wind. "You're really sitting here doing this of all things?"_

" _U-Uhhhhh…" Layla mumbled, shocked at his speed. He must have been training as well, because even after all of her training with Yury, he was still able to sneak up on her._

" _...Want some?" Gildarts asked after a pause._

" _...Ah, what the hell?" The ice mage took it as well for one hit before beginning to walk out of the establishment._

" _Well, come on, we don't have all day." They followed him shortly afterwards._

Silver sighed. He wondered if Layla missed the good times between the three of them, as infrequent as they did smoke.

"And what might you be up to?" Isabella asked, walking up behind him. He didn't turn around.

"Reminiscing about the past. You?"

"I was looking for Layla. She cut contact with me. You wouldn't happen to know why or where she is right now, do you?"

"...No."

"...Liar." She raised her hand before being blown through the street by a blast of wind, sending her crashing into a building. Silver turned around before walking towards her.

"I don't really think that you're someone she needs to associate herself with, parent or not. So forgive me if I'm being blunt, but I'm going to kill you right here. You're not going to see her again." A powerful gray wind burst around him, making his cape billow.

"Fine. But it's your funeral." She lifted herself up and dusted herself off before surrounding herself with a black and purple aura.

 **X**

" _Victoria? I've never even heard of you…"_

" _I'm not entirely surprised, considering that you've never met Isabella until now."_

" _I suppose that I don't really know my family genealogy that well, do I?"_

" _No, I guess not." she laughed softly. "Come with me. My role here is to tell you about my daughter, essentially."_

" _Isabella?"_

" _That's right. You see, I knew about her powers long before she even got them."_

" _What? How is that possible?"_

" _Well, that's what I'm here to explain to you." They continued walking, with Lucy paying attention to her great-grandmother's hair, if she was being completely honest. Both of her parents, her grandmother, even her ancestor Anna, for the brief moment that Aquarias showed her, had blonde hair. It seemed weird seeing a Heartfilia woman with a different hair color._

" _You like my hair?" she asked, running her hand through it, making it bounce once before landing on her back again._

" _Eh?! I, uh…"_

" _It's written all over your face, dear. It must be strange, huh?" She opened a door at the end of the hallway, leading into a room, just like the three before it._

" _This one." Victoria walked over to a painting that portrayed her speaking to a very tall woman with long black curly hair, and a lot of makeup on her face. She was well endowed like all Heartfilia women, and was honestly the most beautiful woman Lucy had ever seen._

" _You can think of this woman as your first ancestor. Her name is Nyx, and she is the Goddess of the Night. I'm sure you've heard of her by now."_

" _That's Nyx?! Wait, ancestor?"_

" _Yes. As you may know, your mother Layla is Nyx's current choice to inherit a portion of her powers. Nyx is a special case, she's one of the 5 most powerful gods in existence, and as such, only her direct descendants are compatible with her powers. Like most other gods, mortals intrigued her, and she had an affair with a mortal man. It was that union that started our line, and therefore every Heartfilia is a direct descendant of Nyx."_

" _Wow...Can you...explain this whole 5 God thing to me?"_

" _Of course. In the very beginning, there was nothing but Mist. And from Mist, Chaos formed, an endless eternal void. From Chaos, Nyx and Erebus were born. From them, Aether and Hemera. Also from Chaos came Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros. And finally, from Gaia, came Uranus. Of course, there are others, such as Chronos, Aion, Ananke, Phanes, Pontus, and Thalassa, but the first ones I mentioned are considered to be the main primordial deities. Of those, there are five that are exceptionally strong. Those five are, in order of weakest to strongest, Gaia, Uranus, Erebus, Aether, and Nyx. Above sits Chaos, the ultimate ruler of all things."_

" _Isabella?"_

" _Indeed."_

" _Over time, as humans learned magic, they began to use it against each other, and it grew to the point that when one war ended, another began. The five gods were upset and tired of watching, it wasn't how they wanted to see humans interacting with each other. So they came up with a solution, one that would make mortals stop fighting each other. By Chaos' orders, each god was to choose a specific family to communicate with, and would choose one person from those families that had exceptional potential. These choices would inherit some of their God's strength, and thus would be far stronger than a normal mage. These five mages would keep them in check, and make sure that they wouldn't step out of line again."_

" _But didn't it ever occur to them that the five might join in the wars?"_

" _Very perceptive. Actually, that's happening now. All five of them are with Alvarez as you probably know. The first generation of gods did their job, but in subsequent ones, they did start to become somewhat evil. That is why a prophecy exists for people that were chosen. During their lifetime, they will either bring great stability or great calamity to the world."_

" _So Nyx chose the Heartfilias...and who were the others?"_

" _Aether chose the Dreyars, Erebus chose the Dragneels, Uranus chose the Fullbusters, and Gaia chose the Belserions."_

" _Belserions?"_

" _Erza's family."_

" _Ah…"_

" _And you know who the five current choices are? Yury, Zeref, Silver, Eileen, and Layla. There is a rule about these gods. No new choices can be made until all 5 current gods die."_

" _But that's...isn't that impossible right now?! After all, Zeref and Yury are immortal!"_

" _That's precisely the predicament that they're always in. They often don't choose right away, they have to pick carefully. Zeref and Eileen were chosen in the X300s. But Zeref accidentally became immortal, and Eileen became a Dragon, multiplying her lifespan, and making him unkillable. Obviously, Erebus and Gaia did not plan for this. And while Zeref did create END to kill him, it would take centuries before the demon would awaken. In the late X600s, Aether chose Yury, but he as well would become immortal after learning Law from Zeref and casting it. And finally, in the mid X700s, Silver and Layla were born, and they joined Zeref after learning of his plans. Layla does not have immortality like the other two, but she is stronger than them. Silver as well would join, as he would follow her anywhere."_

" _So the gods are pretty much stuck right now."_

" _Exactly. Even if Silver, Layla, and Eileen die of old age, their gods are not allowed to pick new choices again, assuming that Zeref and Yury survive. This is quite possibly the last time that mages will ever have this kind of power."_

 **X**

Erza gathered light energy in her sword before slamming head on into the meteor. She gritted her teeth and pushed harder, destroying it.

'To do such a thing...impossible…'

Erza now dove straight down towards Eileen.

"Prepare yourself!"

"Even though you managed to slash the meteor, you can't slash dragon's scales, Erza!"

"I'll enchant Dragon Slaying magic into...Erza's...sword…" Wendy said, using her last ounce of strength to give her friend power. The scarlet haired woman cut right down the middle, leaving Eileen with a massive scar, and knocking her out of her Dragon form. Erza fell to the ground, defeated. Eileen picked up her daughter's sword.

"Stop this crap...little girl...it's over for you. Just give up already." She pointed the sword at Erza's shoulder. Erza smirked, shocking Eileen.

" _Hah...hah...Thank goodness...It's a girl...My new body. My new life." Eileen held a newborn baby Erza._

" _If I can enchant my whole personality into this child...I will surely bid farewell to this cursed body...I have waiting for 400 years...to experience this moment..Now...become my vessel." The child simply smiled at her._

" _Why are you laughing...why...I endured 400 years of suffering, you know. Do not make me hesitate!"_

' _...This is undoubtedly the truth. This is my child. I always loved her.'_

" _Don't laugh...Don't laugh at me!" she cried._

"Don't laugh!" She began to pierce the sword through her shoulder.

"Not yet...I AM NOT GIVING UP!" Erza yelled, getting up, not caring that the sword went deeper into her body. She slammed her head into her mother's, making her cough up blood. Erza once again fell to the ground, while Eileen remained on her feet.

"Not yet...this is a very sweet checkmate."

'The sword...is gone…'

"It's here." Her mother held it in her hand. She stared at it for a moment before impaling herself.

"Eh?"

"How pitiful...I, the strongest woman of the 12...and I cannot kill her...my only daughter…"

"Wh...why…?" Erza asked.

"I don't know...I also wonder why...I...really had to stop enchanting myself into you...You were just born...I chose to discard you, before I went crazy….whatever I say, you probably won't believe it...It's because of your laugh...I wonder...if I still...can remember it clearly…" She fell forward.

"I have always loved you…" she said, closing her eyes.

"..."

" _Get up! Again!"_

" _Grgh…" Eileen could barely get onto her hands. Layla sighed._

" _Come on, Eileen. I'm training you for the sake of the Empire."_

" _I know that. I'm just...wondering about something."_

" _And what's that?"_

" _You have an older daughter other than Vera, correct?"_

" _Yes, her name is Lucy."_

" _Do you ever miss her?"_

" _Every day. She's my pride and joy, and the only reason I didn't bring her along with me is because I don't want her to become corrupted by darkness like you and I were."_

" _..."_

'I don't have the strength or stamina to use my God Magic at this point...I'm sorry for failing you, Layla…It's funny, isn't it? Lady Gaia...you were once an unforgiving mother like myself...But you were brought back by love, just the same as me...I guess we really...are alike…'

 **X**

'Eileen…?' Layla stood up and teleported away. She quickly arrived at the scene.

"It's you…" Erza mumbled, no strength left in her body. The blonde woman walked over to her dead friend and shed a few tears before wiping her eyes.

"Erza...since Eileen died before this war was finished, her primary target becomes the new wielder of her god magic by default. That was you. She didn't pick anyone else."

"I don't want it."

"It's not something you can choose. It's an automatic process."

"Oh...alright…"

"You might feel something, and will probably get a green aura very soon."

"..."

"...Nothing's happening? Why?" Suddenly Eileen's body became engulfed in a light green aura as the rest of her residual magic power left her.

"Ah, here we...go…?" The magic power did not go to Erza. Instead, it flew into the air, and went towards the town.

"I wonder why…?"

 **X**

"What are you doing?" Silver asked, as Isabella absorbed the green magic power.

"Eileen just lost her life."

"What?!"

"And because of the rule that I set, her powers are supposed to go to her primary target, which is Erza. But I'm going to repeal that rule and take it for myself. This war is boring me at this point. I think I need to speed it up a bit."

"You think you need to speed up this war? What makes you think that you're in control of this whole invasion?"

"Silver, you know me better than most people fighting right now. And you know that I can control the flow of events quite easily. Trust me, Alvarez is in the palm of my hand." She held one of her hands out towards him.

"To you, this is the biggest operation of your life that you absolutely must win. But to me, this is all just a game. Like chess. Only I control both sides of the board." she smirked. **[A/N: Think of this as her signature quote.]**

"Tch. Heaven God's Renditional Sword." He formed a wind sword in his hand before speeding towards her. Isabella caught the sword with a single hand before crushing it in her grip. Silver thought quickly and covered his fists in wind before delivering a series of quick strikes to her stomach, sending her flying back.

"I'm aware of your weakness. As powerful as you are, you cannot nullify damage from God Magic. Which means I have a clear shot at winning."

"Do you now?" she asked, clutching her abdomen. Her gown was partially ripped, exposing her navel. She ran her hand over herself before her clothing reformed.

'She's in no rush. I guess that's good news for me. She won't try to take me out quickly.'

"It doesn't matter how much you injure me, or even if you defeat me. I can just reverse what happened and start anew. And while you use up Magic Power and stamina, I won't be deterred in the slightest."

"Care to bet on that?" She smirked.

 **X**

" _Lucy, there's something that you should learn."_

" _And what's that?"_

" _Do you remember how your mother lost control of herself when she became angry?"_

" _Yes…" Why did she have to bring that up? It wasn't a very pleasant memory._

" _If she does lose control of herself during the upcoming fights, I believe that there's a way that you could bring her back._

" _Really?! How?!" she asked, excited._

" _Don't get too hyped up, I'm not 100% sure that it will work. But it's a possibility that I thought of. When Layla was young, she often cried. When she was hungry, wanted something, or was just sad. Normal for an infant, but there was always one thing that calmed her down right away. When she would visit me, I would sing to her a lullaby that I wrote. She loved it. And I think that should she become angry and beyond listening, you should try to sing this song to her."_

" _I'm not nearly as good a singer as Mira or my mother…"_

" _You don't have to be. The lyrics alone should reach her...I hope. Listen."_

 _ **One day you will realize, the stars you are chasing**_

 _ **Shine bright deep inside you, but will you ever let it**_

 _ **Shine from within and cast all of your fears aside?**_

 _ **You'll see the light; but until that day comes,**_

 _ **My Dearly Beloved, be strong, I shall be there**_

 _ **Always here beside you, so keep your head held high**_

 _ **The shadows of this world will try to steal you away**_

 _ **Into their arms, but you belong in mine**_

 _ **We are one within a dream**_

 _ **So hold me close, and count the stars with me**_

 _ **All our scattered memories**_

 _ **I will find the pieces one by one**_

 _ **Ocean waves drift over me**_

 _ **I'll keep you in my memory**_

 _ **This dream that lives within your eyes**_

 _ **I wish to see it come to life**_

 _ **A thousand blades unto the sky**_

 _ **Reach out and link our worlds, yours and mine**_

 _ **Let the tide rush over you and one day I know**_

 _ **We shall meet again**_

 _ **My Dearly Beloved**_

' _...Why does everyone in my family have such a beautiful voice…? Mira better hurry up and give me those singing lessons she promised me after this war is over.'_

" _Got it?"_

" _Um...Not all at once, no."_

" _Here…" she sighed. She placed a hand on Lucy's head before the words were as clear as day to her._

" _Remember them now?"_

" _Like I've known them all my life! How…?!"_

" _Memory Magic." She suddenly raised her head up before sighing again._

" _It looks like we're out of time. It seems that Isabella's in the middle of a fight, so she can't concentrate on this dream anymore. You won't get to see Anna or Nyx in time."_

" _Huh?! Wait! What will happen if this world ceases to exist while I'm in it?!" she squealed._

" _Don't worry! Like I said, it's a dream. You'll just wake up in the real world. I'd have liked you to meet her, but there's nothing we can do. You'll just have to meet her when you and your friends go to Olympus."_

" _WHAT?!"_

" _Don't dwell on it too much yet. Lucy, I enchanted my soul into those lyrics. If you ever need advice, just ask, and I'll be there."_

" _Anytime?"_

" _Anytime. I promise. My Dearly Beloved." she smiled a warm smile that reminded Lucy of when she would spend time with her mother. She blushed slightly at the beautiful woman's radiant appearance before clenching her fists together, determined._

" _Alright!"_

"...Huh?" Lucy woke up in the real world and looked around. Nothing had changed, she was still lying on top of Natsu. She looked down and wondered if what Victoria said was really true.

 **X**

"Farewell...Mother." Erza muttered. Layla had already left towards the green energy, curious as to why it didn't transfer to Eileen's primary target.

"Erza…" Wendy crawled over to her.

"Wendy, are you ok?"

"How about you?"

"I'm alright."

"No...I mean...not just your physical state…"

"Yeah, I'm ok. Don't worry. Thank you, Wendy. She might have been a miserable person. But despite that, my only parent is Master Makarov."

"By the way, something was bugging me a little while ago...I could not smell Master on the battlefield anymore. I thought it could be due to all the various smells here, but…"

"I'm sorry…" Erza hugged her, before Wendy realized what had transpired and began to cry.

 **X**

" _I am...dying?"_

" _That's correct. The cause is the fusion between the Dragon Seed and the Demon Seed. And it disturbs your life force as a human." Natsu sighed._

" _There are many things I want to do, not to mention I have to defeat Zeref and Acnologia." Igneel punched him._

" _Ouch! What the hell was that for?! I'm feeling depressed now, you know!"_

" _Are you willing to hear the entirety of the story? I told you that the fusion of those two seeds is the cause. Don't try to fuse them. Choose one. It's as simple as that."_

" _Fuse them, you said? But how?"_

" _Strengthen your will, decide for yourself. Are you Dragon or Demon?"_

" _ **The strongest demon I have ever created, E.N.D. You will be forced to choose. Will you let it live or will you kill it? The choice is yours to make."**_

" _Dragon or Demon?"_

" _What is your answer? Natsu."_

" _Hold on. It's not all about which one I'll choose. I'm human. I'm Natsu Dragneel!"_

" _Well...who would've guessed you'd come up with the right answer? You were resurrected with Demon's power...you were raised by a dragon...but you are human. That problem made those two seeds bigger."_

" _Dad…"_

" _Now...go forth once more. On your own two feet."_

" _Yeah!"_

Natsu shot up from where he was lying, surprising both Lucy and Happy.

"Natsu!" Happy cried.

"Natsu! You idiot! Don't make us worry! If you didn't wake up...I would…" she hugged him tightly.

"Why are you naked?" 

"It's..it's not like how it looks!" she screamed, covering herself.

"She was desperately trying to warm your cold body. Don't be rude to her." Porlyusica said.

"Granny!"

"I also kept scrubbing you all the time."

"I see. Thanks, Lucy, Happy!"

"It wasn't much…" she mumbled, covering herself in a blanket.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling okay now!"

"But Natsu...if you defeat Zeref...you'll be…"

"Happy! Did you tell her?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry! I'll be okay! Lots of things happened inside of my heart. I was told to believe in myself as a human. So don't worry. By the way, where are Gray and Erza? I don't really remember it much, but I feel like I've done a bad thing to them."

"Gray is in the next room. Erza is fighting, I suppose." Once again, everyone started glowing.

"What's happening?!" Natsu yelled.

"This light is...same with the previous one…" Happy muttered.

"Hold on to me!" Gajeel told Levy. Wendy held on to Erza.

"Everyone! Please hold each other's hands!" Mavis yelled, suddenly coming back to life.

"How is she…?!" Yury said angrily. "Tch!"

"First!" Gildarts called out.

"Come on!" They all joined hands.

"So Eileen...is down, huh?" August asked himself.

"The effect of Universe One disappeared. The world will return to normal." Zeref said to himself.

"Father!"

"Oh! Hisui!"

The world reconstructed itself back to normal.

"Eh? Isn't this place...My room!"

"You're right. Starting from the beginning...We'll take the same path...to Fairy Tail!" Natsu crashed his fists together.

 **X**

"God dammit...now who knows who's near us?" Silver cursed.

"Trying not to freeze anyone, huh? You're an open book." Isabella teleported in front of him and impaled Silver with her hand.

"Grgh…"

"The only reason we didn't move away is because we're already both in the city. We wouldn't be sent somewhere different when the effect reversed itself."

Silver's physical features faded away and the real one appeared behind her. The clone froze around her, preventing her from taking her hand out. She started to form fire in her hands.

"Don't bother. That ice isn't Devil Slayer ice. It's ice that I made by combining my Heaven God wind with natural moisture in the air. It's God Ice. Something that you can't break out of."

"You fool. One of my hands is still free." She aimed it towards him and shot off a few bursts of black magic. Silver remained still before an ice wall shot up in front of him, blocking her attacks.

"Heaven God's Renditional Blades!" He created two swords with swirling wind around the hilts in both of his hands before placing one on top of the other. They became enveloped in pink light before the light dispersed and a large claymore remained, wrapped in pink and gray wind.

'He combined them?'

He walked up to her and stabbed her through the torso.

"Silver...why don't you listen to me?" [ **A/N: Start the music here. It makes for great effect.]**

"!"

"I said it before, and I meant it. It doesn't matter how many times you injure me, or how much. In the end, you're going to die!" The ice around her shattered and she kicked him back before her wound healed.

"ICE GOD'S FREEZING SLICE!" Silver rushed towards her and slashed with his sword, but Isabella caught it with one hand, smiling. She kicked him back and then jumped up into the air.

"Even you know! You haven't smiled once through this whole fight! You obviously know that it's pointless to try and beat me!"

"It's not about if I can or not...it's that I have to!" The sword was enveloped in more light before transforming again and becoming a huge blade several times his size. He swung it above his head and then down, splitting the ground in half and freezing anything nearby.

"Chaos God's Dark Lightning Storm!" she grinned, shooting dark purple lightning off of her fingertips. She dodged the sword strike and shot the lightning at Silver, who swung his hand to the side, wiping out the attack. She appeared above him and kicked him down to the ground, then landed herself.

"Come now, Silver. How long have I known you?" She walked over to him and knelt down so that they were eye level.

"I know all about you from watching you five the past 36 years. And what do you know about me? Only what you learned about me over that year that you started visiting. The only reason that you're still alive right now is because you're the most important person in my daughter's life."

"I doubt that. What about Zeref? Or Vera or Lucy?"

"The whole reason why she joined Alvarez was to kill Zeref. And as for the other two, yes, she cares about them, but you were the first one besides myself and my late husband that accepted her for who she was. Or did you forget that she brought you back to life twice now?"

"..."

"What did she decide to do when her house burned down? She went to experience life, and she asked you and only you to join her. Who was it that she always spent time with in Fairy Tail, whether it was on a mission or off? You more often than Gildarts. Who did she go to for advice about her conflicting love life? You, and only you. She's not in love with you, but you are her best friend. And she'd rather have you in her life than Zeref."

"And by that logic, she'd rather have me in her life than you as well." Isabella's eyes widened before Silver blew her back with a gust of wind.

"Other than Layla, you don't give a damn about anyone else in this world. You don't care if we live or die. And frankly, I don't think that your daughter would approve of that. So I'm going to end you here and now."

"Oh? With what?"

" **Take Over: God Soul.** "

'What?! He's going so far as to use it on me?!'

Silver became surrounded in powerful winds before a gray and pink explosion engulfed the whole city, freezing anything that it came into contact with.

"KYAAHHH! What's happening?!" Lucy screamed, her windows shattering from the force of the blast.

'Silver?! He's….I need to hurry.' Layla continued towards his magic power.

'This magic power...he's using it?' Yury looked over towards the city.

'Silver? He's fighting...Isabella?! I didn't notice her magic power until now! She must have kept it hidden…I have to stop him.' Zeref tried to create a portal to where they were but it wasn't working.

"She must have prevented teleportation with one of her powers...I'll have to go there on foot." He walked out of the guild briskly before running towards the cold. Silver's body was turned completely dark, like Dimaria's looked when she used her own transformation. His facial features remained unchanged, but only his eyes, which were glowing a royal blue, and his mouth down to his chin were visible. The rest of his body was covered in a cloak of magic power the same shade of blue as his eyes, while he had eldritch markings wrapping around from his feet up to his shoulders. The markings converged at the center of his torso, where his god's symbol, an upright circle with an arrow sticking up at the end, and a dot in the center, displayed themselves.

"You look surprised. Something wrong?" his voice now boomed deeply, filled with power and authority.

Isabella stood motionless for a moment before composing herself and smiling once again.

"I was surprised. Surprised that you'd go this far just to defeat little old me. But you know what happens when someone uses a God Soul, right? They adopt their god's personalities. Simply speaking, you're a carbon copy of Uranus right now. And he's loyal to me. So do you really think that you have the balls to disobey me-" Her sentence was cut off before being sent flying backwards into a building, getting sliced up by wind.

"You talk a big game, but you don't know as much as you think. If you really knew everything about us, then you'd know that we're far more experienced with this kind of magic than Dimaria is. We're strong enough to control it and retain our own personalities. We don't have to become our gods."

Isabella was stunned, laying in a pile of rubble with her clothes all torn up.

"You need to understand that we are not your puppets. This may not be your world anymore, but it's ours. And you causing the destruction of it isn't something I approve of!" He fired up a beam of energy on his fingertip before firing it off at her. She quickly stood up and deflected it before rushing up to him.

"Chaos God's Penalty!" She kicked him upwards in the chin, and then down on the head, but he remained still.

"Are you getting...desperate?"

"Keep telling yourself that." She blasted a stream of chaos energy into his stomach, pushing him back.

"Hm...so you do have some fight left in you."

"More than you can imagine. Chaos God's Rampaging Anarchy." She shot lightning up into the sky before it came down in waves and continued striking Silver, who remained still.

"That your best?"

"It's not supposed to do damage when it hits you."

"What? GWAHHH!" He suddenly began to shake violently before falling over onto his knees again.

"It shocks you internally after you absorb the lightning. Look at yourself. Kneeling down before me, like you should be. And you claim that you're not my puppets? This entire world is mine to control. If I wish it, Earthland and Alakitasia could be destroyed in an instant, and you all would be none the wiser as to why it happened or how it happened. In fact, it wouldn't matter, because you'd be dead. And then life would start anew. What do you think I'm trying to do now?"

"That...that's your plan?"

"That's right. Layla, Lucy, and Vera. Those three are the only ones I'm taking with me. The rest of you can perish like the disgusting pieces of trash that you are." Her tone had obviously shifted, becoming much more like something Chaos would say rather than herself. She placed her hand on Silver's head before his God Soul power disappeared in an instant.

'What…? What is this?'

"That's right. If I so wish, I can render your God Soul ineffective. It's true that by default, God Magic is the only kind that can actually hurt me. But I can easily overcome that silly weakness by willing it to be ineffective on me anymore. You five call yourselves gods, but you're really just children in costumes. If there is any one true deity in this universe, it's me. **I am God.** " She said commandingly.

"And look at you, kneeling before me. How fitting…"

"Why...do you still care about those three?"

"Why? That's a stupid question. They're my family. I'm not heartless. Those three should count themselves lucky that they're related to me. I always put loved ones first before any business. And I have. I already have rooms prepared for them at my castle in Olympus."

"And you simply don't care about the rest of us?"

"No. The four of you, and all of the members of Fairy Tail. All you do is cause destruction and chaos everywhere you go. Whether it's the right thing or not. Fairy Tail's members are family? Yeah, right. Everything that they do, they do for their own sake. They're selfish."

"Why do you think we're fighting them? The same reason."

"That may be true, but isn't Alvarez the same way? I mean, you guys are fighting for yourselves, aren't you?"

"We're fighting to make the world a better place!"

"By killing Zeref and uniting the world under a single empire? Noble causes indeed, but if you don't win, that will never happen. So essentially, you're only fighting for yourselves. Besides, uniting the world under a large monarchy...who's to say that someone won't rise up and rebel at some point in time?"

"You obviously don't know how Layla and Zeref run Alvarez: with kindness. Everyone who lives there loves them."

"If that's true, then there's only a greater chance of my possibility. People are restless. Alvarez may be a Utopia if it's the leading power, but then there would be no wars, and someone would crave conflict and start a rebellion. It's the way the world works."

"Then what's the point for you? Even if you reset the world, and new people come to be, then won't they just start more conflicts, eventually leading to a war like this one?"

"I wouldn't have to interfere if you just did your job. But since all five of you began an invasion, I had to step in. This world is just in a continuous cycle. When things get out of hand, you're supposed to step in and fix it. And if that's not enough, then I reset the world until they get it right."

"That's pointless! If it's inevitable, then you're just destroying the world for no reason until humans go in the direction that you want them to! You've got a God Complex!" She quickly silenced him by stomping her foot onto his head, burying his face in the ground.

"Mother, stop it!" Layla arrived at the scene with tears in her eyes.

"Layla. It's about time you showed up."

"Mother, let him go! If you do, I...I'll go with you."

"Oh? Yes, I've been meaning to ask about last time. What compelled you to disobey my orders?"

"...I believe in Zeref unconditionally. I'm sorry, there's no other way to say it. I love him."

"...Are you absolutely certain that you can bring yourself to kill him?" she questioned.

"...No. I was planning to leave the task to Yury. I kept telling myself that I could do it, but now I know for sure that I can't…" she cried.

"I thought so. Well, I know a way to change that."

"Don't you dare." Zeref said angrily, arriving at the scene.

"Zeref!" Layla ran over to him.

"Ah, there you are. It's been quite a long time."

"Isabella, if you touch her, I'll kill you."

"You don't have the strength to do that. And besides, Layla said she'd join me if I let Silver live." She took her foot off of his head. Silver turned his head towards her.

"Don't...do it…" he muttered.

"I...have to. I can't let you die. Not again…I'm sorry Zeref…" She grabbed him and kissed him passionately.

"I know you'll come and save me…" she whispered in his ear so that Isabella couldn't hear.

"It's time. Come." She pointed her finger towards Layla's eyes, before her body became stiff, and her eyes began to glow a hazy purple. She slowly walked forward to her mother.

"Come now, dear. It's time to go. Remember that you are the Queen of Hell. You deserve someone better than them."

"Yes…" she mumbled weakly. Isabella opened a portal to Olympus and walked through, Layla following closely behind.

"Shit…" Silver slammed his fist against the ground.

 **End.**


	17. The Real Villains

**Songs**

 **Zeref's Regrets: Obito's Death Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **History of the World: Ezio's Family (Assassin's Creed 2 OST)**

 **Mystogan Returns: Total War of Anger (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Yury vs. Mystogan: Standing up on Roaring Earth (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Mystogan Turns the Tables: Itachi Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Mavis Arrives: Mavis' Challenge (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Vera Challenges Laxus: Unreleased Track #36 (Yu Yu Hakusho OST)**

"...I can't believe that I let her go…" Zeref muttered to himself, his hands covering his face. He and Silver went back to Fairy Tail since Layla left with Isabella.

"It's not your fault. I should have killed her when I had the chance." Silver said, drinking a bottle of rum.

"It's not yours, either. Even with your God Soul, you wouldn't have been able to beat her. I should have gone out to stop her. No, even before that...I should have just told her the truth from the very beginning, that her mother was alive. And now…"

"We'll get her back, you know."

"...There's no point. Even if we break the hold on her mind, all of us together couldn't beat Isabella."

"Zeref. Get yourself together. This is the woman that you love."

"But I loved Mavis too…"

"And what's the difference between those two? When Mavis died, you felt nothing for her. But now, Layla's kidnapped and you're tearing yourself up. Why do you love her so much more?"

"..."

" _We'll find the cure together!"_

"Mavis never said it to me...not once…But Layla…"

" _We're the same Zeref. We were both in a previous relationship that didn't end well. But this time, it'll work out. Because I love you."_

" _Good Morning, Zeref! I love you!"_

" _Happy Valentine's Day, Zeref! I love you."_

"She said it to me every day...despite all of my flaws, she fell in love with me, and now we have a daughter together. There's no one in this world that I love more. And there's no one else in this world that I can love, both literally, and emotionally."

"Then there's your answer. Your love for her is stronger than Isabella's will to hold her. She claims that Layla and her two granddaughters are the only people that she cares about in this world. But despite the nature of your magic, you care for many more people than she does. Yury, myself, Eileen, August, Rahkeid, Vera, the rest of the 12, and all of your subjects. We're your comrades and your friends. You love all of us. And all of that love put together couldn't compare to how much you love your wife. So don't be discouraged because she's with Isabella. It's a temporary setback, and she'll be with us again before you know it."

"...You're right."

 **X**

"Yury? Yury!"

"Huh?" He looked over at Vera, who was behind him along with Laxus' and Mira's bodies.

"Vera. You're here too."

"Yeah. Universe One reversed itself. Aunt Eileen must have been defeated.

"Yes...Vera...did you feel…?"

"Yes, I did. Mom's magic power completely disappeared. She must have gone off somewhere else."

"...Vera, for now, you should go back to Fairy Tail and make sure that your father is okay. I'll take care of everything else down here."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me, I'll be fine. No one in Fairy Tail stands a chance against me."

"Alright then. I'll leave these two with you." She rushed off.

"...Oh? You're waking up? You two have been out for quite a while now." Yury said, noticing Mira and Laxus move around a bit.

"Yury…" Laxus growled.

"I'm just going to send you two off again, probably towards Mavis. You're not my targets, I have no reason to fight you."

"...Why are we here? I thought we were near that canyon?"

"One of my comrades, Eileen, was apparently defeated. This whole changing the landscape ordeal was one of her special magics. So now that she's dead, the land has gone back to the way it was before."

"Oh...I see…" Mira muttered, trying to get up, but coughing and falling back down. Laxus put his arm around her.

"Don't force yourself, Mira!"

"...You two are quite the interesting pair."

"What do you mean?" Mira asked, slightly blushing.

"You thought of giving Laxus some of your magic on a hunch, and it worked, unlocking his Dual Mode. The two magics in a dual mode are supposed to be compatible with each other. In Natsu's case, Fire and Lightning can make a deadly combination in terms of offense. In Gajeel's case, his Shadows act as an enhancer to his Iron. And in Sting and Rogue's case, opposites attract, as their Light an Shadow complement each other. And in your case, Lightning and Darkness also complement each other quite well."

'After all, that's the basis for Chaos.' Yury thought about Isabella's powers.

"What are you trying to say?" Mira asked.

"I find it curious that you two have such a high compatibility with each other. You've never really fought together before, or spent time together when this whole thing started. Only after my first attack on you did you begin to stay with each other. So what is it, that caused you to become so close in such a short amount of time? Was it simply because he saved your life? Or is it a greater type of attraction?"

"W-Well...it's…" Mira had a full body blush now.

"I wouldn't find it strange if you two could pull off Unison Raid, either."

"H-Huh? You think we...could?"

"It takes years for two ordinary mages to achieve it. But the stronger the bond and trust between partners, the easier it becomes. For example, Layla and Silver have been able to use it since they were only ten, because they're inseparable. She can also use it with Zeref because he's her true love. Layla and I can use it as well, because she believes in me as her mentor. And I can also use it with Zeref, as I've been his advisor and confidant for almost 100 years now."

"Gray and Juvia have done it a few times now...and Lucy has done it with both Wendy and Juvia. And Sting and Rogue can do it together."

"Lucy's Unison Raid would be much stronger if she used it with Natsu or her mother. Probably even Vera. Considering how much she loves them, and they love her, the power would be much stronger than something she'd achieve with Wendy or Juvia. Erza and Jellal, Gajeel and Levy, and of course, yourselves."

"...Why are you explaining this to us?" Laxus asked.

"...Your final opponent will not be Zeref, Layla, or myself. That's all I can say for right now. I'll see you again shortly." He drew a pattern in the air with his finger before the two became light particles and transmitted away towards Mavis' group.

"...Let's hope that a Unison Raid of those calibers will help against Isabella." Yury said to himself before continuing to walk towards Fairy Tail.

 **X**

"Ugh…" Laxus woke up and looked at himself. He was bandaged up again, probably from his loss against Vera. He looked around to find Mavis commanding the remaining Fairy Tail forces towards the guild, which wasn't that far away. He sat up and walked over to Makarov's body.

"Gramps...we've almost made it. I'll take you there. To the guild...to our home."

Mira woke up on a side street of Magnolia and found an injured Jacob standing close by.

"You again...you don't quit, do you?" She activated Satan Soul and punched him with all of the strength that she had left, knocking him out. Her transformation left her.

"I've used up so much magic power…" she panted. "I wonder why he closed his eyes during the whole fight...His quirkiness helped me a lot. He was strong, though. But...I need to get back to Laxus. Yury will be coming for us soon enough." she shuddered at the thought.

"Have...we made it…?" Elfman asked.

"It took two of us to beat him." Lisanna said.

"Not yet...I still can-" Ajeel coughed.

"Enough, Ajeel." An old man stepped in front of him.

"Gramps…"

"Gramps?!" Lisanna asked.

"Family, huh…"

"Both sides fighting this war have lost things important to them...if we won't stop it now…"

"This war? All wars lead to the same result."

"You always kept winning, so you didn't realize, right? How much the countries that you have won over have lost." Lisanna said.

"I beg you...It's up to you, whether you're willing to let me live or not...but please, let my grandson live…"

"I won't give up! Don't beg for my life, Gramps!"

"Cut it out."

"Elfman and I have never thought about killing someone before. We have the same mindset, as siblings."

"You two are siblings too?"

"Even though everyone in my guild is my family, Lisanna is my one and only cute little sister."

"You are not alike."

"You and your grandpa aren't either…" Lisanna mumbled.

 **X**

"Magnolia is back, but...where is everyone?" Lucy asked.

"Carla, Porlyusica, and Ever aren't here, either…" Happy mumbled.

"We're here."

"Brandish!" She held a small Dimaria. Natsu looked at her before she cried out.

"Sorry. I don't really remember it, but...apparently I did too much."

"Don't...Don't come closer!"

"I'm sure it happened when you tried to kill Lucy…"

"Help me, Randi!"

"Well then...we shall take our leave…"

"Where are you going?"

"I don't plan on becoming an enemy, so don't worry. Well...although I don't intend to become an ally."

"I see…See you again."

"...What a drag." [ **A/N: Brandish has become Shikamaru.]**

"Natsu! Lucy!"

"Ever! And Juvia, too." Natsu called out.

"We were looking for Gray, but he's gone! We couldn't find him!" Carla said.

"It's suicide to move around with your body in that condition!"

"I woke up when that light emerged."

"Hey...What is that?" Happy looked around, feeling something strange and hearing a strange sound.

"Look!" Carla pointed to the top of the Cathedral.

"So I am the last Spriggan left?" August stood, gripping his staff angrily.

"That's…!" Mest gritted his teeth.

"Children of His Majesty! The proud 12! Let's devote our souls and bodies to His Majesty!" August announced before an eruption of magic power blasted through the city.

"I wish to meet with you again...but it won't happen. Not now, when you provoke anger in August." Brandish said to herself.

"I, as a child of His Majesty, will exterminate the enemy with all of your souls." He looked up before blocking a punch from Gildarts with his staff.

"Whoops! I destroyed the church." Gildarts said as they fell to the ground.

August deflected the blast away from them.

"Leave him to me." Gildarts said.

"Let's go to Zeref's place!" Natsu yelled.

"What about Gray?!" Lucy asked.

"Don't worry! I know where he is…"

 **X**

"Who would've guessed that you'd be the first one to arrive here. I expected to see Jellal or Laxus. Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed." Zeref mocked.

"Would you mind leaving? You're sitting in my spot." Gray said.

"I'm sorry about this, Natsu." Zeref smirked. "So, Gray. Natsu's best friend. Your parents were killed by Deliora, the demon I created. Defeating this monster took your master's life. You must despise me, right?"

"I'm surprised. You know quite a lot about people you're not interested in."

"Know thy enemy. Lucy Heartfilia. The descendant of my friend, Anna. A cheerful positive person, who's had a great impact on Natsu's upbringing. Happy, Natsu's partner. They all share a very strong bond and trust each other. Erza, Wendy, Gajeel. I know every major opponent of mine."

"I know every major opponent of mine." Gray countered back.

"I guess so."

"What are you really aiming for?"

"Do you really need an answer? I want Mavis' Magical Power. You want to protect her. Isn't that enough of a reason to fight?" he semi-lied.

"You have a huge army and power of immortality. Why do you need the abilities of the first?"

"To defeat Acnologia. If that were my goal, would you lend me a hand?"

"That's not funny…"

"But...that's the truth. In the end, I'll be able to defeat even Acnologia. But you know, my true goal isn't such an insignificant feat."

Outside, Gildarts threw his coat off and rushed back towards August, who was unfazed. Gildarts jumped to the side before swiping upwards, an attack that August easily avoided.

"Behind you!" Gildarts sent a blast of crash magic through the old mage that cut him up into squares.

"Well, well…quite amusing magic you use…" He said, reforming himself.

"Huh? Are you kidding me?!" August rushed up to him and punched him hard in the stomach, sending him flying back into some rubble.

"You cannot win against me." He jumped back suddenly, avoiding some falling cards.

"Making the impossible possible is my old man's specialty!"

"Cana, no! Don't come closer!"

"Father and daughter? Hmm...father and daughter…"

"What the….?!"

"You're the first one to hear it. I think no one from the twelve knows about it. Mavis' magical power...Fairy Heart is too powerful."

"Are you really going to...no, it's impossible...do you have any idea why I told you this? Natsu is heading here right now. But first, you will die. When Natsu arrives, he will look upon the dead body of his dearest friend. He will be sad. Furious. This is my last chance to fight against Natsu with all he's got. You will be the trigger that will unleash his power."

"You wish. When Natsu will arrive, there will be nothing left from you."

"It's futile. I'm immortal. No one can kill me. But if you somehow managed to kill me, Natsu will…"

"Yeah, I know."

"Oh, so you already knew...that Natsu is END?"

"Natsu...is Natsu. I wanted to blame someone for the deaths of my parents and Ur...and that 'someone' was END. But now knowing that it's Natsu...I care more about those who are still alive. I don't care what they are. They are my friends."

"...You will lose them. Whether you kill me or you die yourself-"

"I won't let that happen. That's why i have to defeat you." He activated his ice magic, making his hair stand up."

"Don't you understand? If I die, Natsu…"

"There is a way to defeat you without killing you. Iced Shell."

"This magic...in exchange for a caster's life…"

"I was saved by others many times. I know that his life doesn't belong only to me. I can't die too easily. For everyone's sake."

"This magic power...Lost Attribute?!"

"That's right...no one has to remember me. I'll erase my existence from my friends' memories. I'll turn my life, existence, and memory into magic! LOST ICED SHELL!"

"Lost Attribute...where did he…"

"Damn, I wanted to see it. Although it's my job, I've obtained many things…"

"The power of the magic enhanced by the Lost Attribute is hundreds of times stronger than normal. at the price of the user vanishing from this world." Zeref explained. Silver watched on in silence.

"You're talking about the fact that I will disappear from everyone's memories, aren't you? I'm well aware. That way, no one will be sad! There's more than enough tears already!"

"Kuh! My body...won't move…" Zeref gasped, becoming frozen.

"This is the end! ZEREF!"

"Your life...even if you disappear from existence...this ice magic only seals the opponent. It won't kill me."

"If I kill you, Natsu will die, too! That's why I'm sealing you! For eternity!"

"There is no eternity! Eventually the ice will melt...and I will be revived!"

"But until that time comes, we'll be able to obtain peace, right? It's Fairy Tail's win!"

"YOU IGNORANT-" Silver screamed out, but his cry could not be heard over the roar of the cold wind.

Gray felt himself fade and fell down onto his knees.

" _Gray, a guy like you…"_

" _Ur."_

" _You can't give up on living."_

" _Sorry...I've already made my decision."_

" _Stop it."_

" _There was no other way…"_

" _Stop…"_

" _Until the very end, thank you Ur…"_

" _Sto-!"_

"STOP IT!" Natsu crashed down onto Gray, restraining his arms.

"Natsu…"

"So you came."

"You bastard...did you forget? That magic...I should've stopped you from using it once already."

"...I was blinded by emotion...our friends and you...I tried to kill you guys...there's no longer a place for me in the guild!"

"IN THAT WAY, I'M THE SAME AS YOU!" There were a few moments of silence after Natsu's scream.

"Hey Gray...we're friends...aren't we…?" he asked, tears streaming down his face. "Don't die...stop thinking about dying! Live! Dammit…"

"But...even if you defeat Zeref…"

"Whether you win or lose, you'll still die. That's your cruel fate." Zeref said.

"I won't die! Fate?! Something like that, I'll burn it to ashes!"

"Natsu…"

'I believe in you…' Lucy said to herself.

"You'll burn your fate, huh? What an interesting thought." Zeref grabbed his cape and tossed it off to the side, leaving somewhat of a formal black General's uniform.

"You see...I'm a human who's accepted his cursed fate. Do you know why? It's because I had no other choice. That's why it's called 'Fate'."

 **X**

"Erza, can you walk?" Erza leaned on Wendy.

"Your recovery magic really is amazing."

"If only I was by Master's side, maybe…"

"No...that was magic filled with resolve. The resolve to sacrifice one's own life…"

"...! Wha...What is this magic power…?" A large blast hit the ground, startling the two.

"I'm bored. I'm bored with this world, Black Magician." Acnologia said, standing in front of the two. They were fucked.

"It seems...that we're out of time." August said to himself.

 **X**

"...The level of your naivete astounds me, it really does." said a deep voice from behind Natsu. He spun around to find Yury and Vera walking through the front entrance.

"Naivete...what are you talking about?" Gray growled.

"Natsu just saved your life. Look over there." Yury pointed to behind the bar, before Gray and Natsu became frozen in fear. Silver's eyes were glowing pink, in a pure rage. One of his hands was raised, with wind and ice rushing around him.

"D...Dad…?" Gray asked.

"Your father was very close to attacking you, had you continued your attempt on Zeref's life. And you didn't even notice." Yury mocked. Silver lowered his arm and his magic power, but his angry expression remained the same.

"You guys have no idea what you're doing. If you keep acting this way, you're going to get yourselves involuntarily killed." he said darkly, walking out towards them.

"No idea what we're doing?! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Natsu yelled.

"WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE THIS WORLD, YOU IDIOT!" Natsu jumped back at the sudden outburst.

 **X**

"Mother, what did you want to explain to me?" Layla asked, walking into the throne room of Isabella's castle. She had released the spell forcing Layla to follow her, but her daughter knew better than to leave at this point. Another disobeyed order and she'd be ended in an instant. She hadn't even contacted the others yet out of fear of being discovered. She just stayed in her room most of the time.

"I wanted to explain to you what my motive is. Come here." Layla walked up to her before Isabella tapped her forehead, surprising her. She felt herself getting smaller. She was shrinking! Before she knew it, she looked like her 8 year old self.

"You thought Eileen and Vera were the only ones who knew aging magic? Come here." She held her hands out and picked her up, placing her on her lap. Layla felt strangely...comfortable. And nostalgic.

"Mommy…" she sobbed, leaning into her mother's chest.

"Don't cry, sweetheart." she smiled, kissing her head. "This reminds me of the old days too." She waved her hand, bringing up a hologram map of Earthland. Most of it consisted of Ishgar and Alakitasia, with some bodies of water here and there.

"This is what the world looks like now, as you know."

"Yes…"

"But...it wasn't always like this. It once looked very different. Layla, when you first began studying...didn't you ever wonder what happened before the year X1?"

"No...I never really thought about it…I just assumed that the world was created then…"

"Not quite. In fact, Earth is 4.5 billion years old. And in all that time, humans have only existed for about 6 million years or so. Civilizations began about 200,000 years ago. You see, before X1, there was a different kind of calendar used. Recorded history goes back about 10000 years or so, and then we switched from 1 BC to 1 AD. These mean 'Before Christ' and 'Anno Domini.' This is what the world looked like before it was reset." the hologram changed to show different continents that seemed like half were on one side of the planet, and then half were on the other side.

"There were many great countries back then. America, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, Australia..."

"Why did you reset the world?"

"For a long time, the human race lived in peace and harmony with animals, nature, and themselves. But certain individuals throughout history were incredibly twisted. And every time that one died, another madman would eventually take his place. In the year 2020, society had become so warped and manipulated by their leaders that I decided to end everything. The others assisted me in wiping out all life on earth and rearranging the land to look like it is now."

"Who were these leaders?" Layla asked, listening to her mother's story intently.

"Qin Shi Huang, Caligula, Nero, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Vlad Dracula, Ivan the Terrible, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden. They were the most well known, but there were plenty of others that played with fire as well. The other gods and I created new life for this new land, and decided to grant some of these people the ability to use magic, like us, though to a much smaller degree. We figured if we gave them power that could hurt but also heal, things wouldn't be so bad. But alas, this dream didn't last very long, as the early mages began to form guilds and start conquering others, trying to build up power and authority for themselves. And so we began to give our descendants God Souls, in order to keep the balance in the world. They would make sure that no one would become too powerful by crushing a fortress or guild whenever they produced a looming threat. And then, in the early X300s, Acnologia became the most powerful mage on the planet. He killed all of the God Soul users, making us reevaluate our next choices. We decided to give our choices more power, allowing them to use God Magic in their base form, in addition to a God Soul as their full power. We chose our prospects carefully, as we wanted these mages to be the ones to team up and defeat Acnologia. Gaia chose Eileen, and Erebus chose Zeref. Almost 400 years later, Aether chose Yury, and another 50 years after that, Nyx chose you and Uranus chose Silver. But...in actuality, only you and Yury are strong enough to defeat him for sure. Zeref, Silver and END are more 'maybes.' We didn't think that Zeref and Yury would become immortal, while Eileen would increase her lifespan by becoming a dragon. We were left in a predicament, and this fated battle would be waiting until now. If the remaining 4 of you cannot defeat him, I will have no choice but to destroy the world and begin anew again."

 **X**

'Who is he…?! This magic power...I've felt it before…' The Dark Dragon walked over past Erza and to Eileen's dead body.

"So it was you...that gave the people the power of Dragon Slayer. That means you are my mother. MY SIN!" He yelled, stomping on her corpse with great force and laughing maniacally.

Back in Fairy Tail, Natsu and Zeref were fighting. Despite Silver's words, the stubborn Fire Dragon didn't believe them and still claimed that stopping Alvarez was what he needed to do. He threw a flaming punch at his older brother, but Zeref easily blocked it. Natsu broke the stalemate and threw him to the ground, preparing another blow, but Zeref quickly recovered and kicked him, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Natsu!" Lucy called out.

"Ow…." Natsu rubbed his head.

"It's just as I thought. The power of Igneel is gone. You cannot win against me like that."

'If I didn't stop him that time…' Happy thought.

"There's still the power of 'me.'" They all stopped when they sensed Acnologia's overwhelming magic power.

"...Although Eileen has stalled some time for us...I guess...it's time. Natsu...we've run out of time to play around. This is my final chance. For the future of humanity, die."

"We're out of time, huh…" August muttered. "Acnologia. If only the king absorbed the magic of the Fairy Heart before he came...then this might have been a different story."

"You gave up pretty quick." Gildarts said.

"Those are the Wings of Darkness which darkens the future of humanity."

"But you guys are already on your way of darkening the future."

"The king is working for the sake of the future of humanity."

"Who would believe that bullshit?!"

"It's fine if you do not understand. Even if I am the only one that understands...then…"

"Don't be ridiculous! Even if there's justice...what you guys are really doing is conquering! Because of that, many people have fallen...even master….We don't care about justice anymore!" Cana screamed. "The precious time to be able to laugh and enjoy with your comrades is the most important thing to us! So we won't give up no matter what! I won't flinch even if it's Acnologia or Zeref! If it's to protect our town...our guild! I WILL FIGHT BACK AGAINST ANY DISASTER! FAIRY MAGIC NO. 2: FAIRY GLITTER!" **[A/N: I believe there was a typo in this chapter. Cana says no. 3, but Fairy Glitter is supposed to be the second, Fairy Law the first, and Fairy Sphere the third.]**

A column of light energy engulfed the area and a pillar shot up into the sky. August stood unfazed after the smoke cleared.

"No damage?!"

"You...do you love your father?"

"What? Well, I don't really feel for him."

"That's a lie, Canaaaaa!" Gildarts yelled.

"Do you love your child?"

"Of course!"

"Even I, who have mastered all magic which exists in this world have one thing that I do not understand. The love between parent and child. If your child is to die in front of your eyes, what will your emotions be like?"

"Huh?" Gildarts asked angrily.

 **X**

"If you really think you're doing the right thing, then why don't you explain to us what your motives are?!" Natsu yelled.

"Because you refuse to listen. Even if I told you, would you believe me?"

"Probably not." Natsu growled.

"Exactly my point. This is why we all left Fairy Tail. You're all one dimensional. The villain in this war...is you."

"Yeah, right!" Lucy called out, stepping forward. "We're the ones trying to stop you from taking over our land! How are we the villains?!"

"Your guild is one known for causing destruction and mayhem, even if it's unintentional. You may be good people individually, but as a group you reject anyone who stands against your guild, whatever their motives might be." Yury clarified.

"Shut up! What would you know?!" Gray yelled.

"More than you, brat. I'm a founder of this place. I'm the reason any of you met each other in the first place! I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in historical facts. And here's one: if it weren't for me, this guild wouldn't exist. Before Fairy Tail existed, my group visited Tenroujima in search of an artifact, where I met Mavis. And despite being the minority vote, I brought her along into Hargeon, and subsequently Magnolia. If I said no, this guild would never have been created." Gray clenched his fists.

"Maybe that's true...but I'm sure as hell not going to thank you, because you're the one standing against us now! You're just another one of us who strayed down the path of evil and needs to be brought back to his senses."

"Why don't you go ahead and try. I won't be swayed." He stepped forward, making Gray collapse.

"Gray-uhh…" Lucy began to call out, but fell forward as well in addition to Natsu.

"Look at all of you. You can't even stand up when you're in my presence. Layla and myself, our magic powers are so immense that we constantly have to lower them down to almost nothing to make sure that we don't crack the ground as we walk, or knock someone unconscious, like now. This is a mere fraction of what I'm capable of. Do you see what we mean? There's no way you can beat us, and the more you try, the more likely you're going to fall. Just give it up already."

"Never." said another male voice. Yury released his hold on them and looked over to the back door.

"You...Mystogan." Jellal stood at the back door of the guild, breathing heavily. His wound was healed, but he was still recovering his stamina.

"Layla killed you, what's going on?" Yury said annoyed, turning to face him.

"Yeah, she did. You're fighting a dead man." He quickly clapped his hands and shot the light mage out of the guild with a purple energy blast. "Natsu, don't worry about what he's saying. It doesn't matter how strong they are, we'll cross that bridge when we get there!" Mystogan yelled, casting Meteor and speeding out after Yury, kicking him down to the ground, flipping through the air, and landing across from him.

"You're fighting me. Let's go." Light purple energy surrounded him and began shattering the ground in the area. Yury did the same, only with golden energy.

"Still alive, huh?" Vera said, chuckling. Lucy looked at her half sister after standing up again with the others.

"Vera?" she asked. The black-haired Dragneel girl glowed for a brief moment before appearing in her 23 year old form and walking towards the exit.

"While Yury's keeping him occupied, I'll go deal with the other student." She also used meteor to leave the guild in a flash, causing a huge burst of wind to go through the guildhall. Zeref remained calm, he knew his daughter would be too much for Laxus to handle. He looked over at Silver.

"Are you going to go fight too?" he asked.

"I don't see the point. My target is right here. And Juvia's not even conscious. Whenever you're ready Gray. But until then, I'm just going to enjoy the show." he smirked, watching Natsu stand back up and run towards Zeref.

 **X**

"Explain to me how you survived. I'm curious."

"I brought two different kinds of pills with me. The first allows me to utilize the type of magic that my Earthland counterpart does for the duration of my stay here. The second brings me back from the brink of death, and heals my wounds. It's sort of like your God Healing magic."

"Yes, it would seem that they're practically identical. After all, our magic can't heal magic power either."

'Shit, he knows. Figures he'd find out quickly…'

"You might be completely healed, but your stamina sure as hell isn't. And you can be sure that once I'm through with you, I'll be taking those pills so that you don't have a way to come back again." he said menacingly, his magic power spiking up again.

'Ugh...can I really take someone like him on? Layla's strong, but she's not merciless like him...he won't waste time talking either…'

"Well? Come on. I have no quarrel with you, and I would rather watch the fight back up there, so if you're not up to the challenge, I'm going to leave."

"You shouldn't underestimate me."

'As I remember, he was able to do a decent amount of damage to Layla. She had to change clothes, and Zeref became concerned after their fight. Maybe he'll be a decent opponent after all.'

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor!" Mystogan covered himself in a purple aura before speeding past Yury in the blink of an eye. The light god remained unfazed. Mystogan ran in a circle before coming back in and kicking towards his enemy. Yury calmly blocked the strike with his arm.

"Is that all?"

"Not even close." He punched Yury in the stomach and spun around, kicking him back again.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!" He swung his arm around behind his back with two fingers pointed towards the sky before it became engulfed in dark purple clouds. Yury looked up, slightly surprised.

"I didn't think you had enough magic power left for this spell. Impressive. You're stronger than most S-Class mages I've fought." Mystogan wasted no time in dropping the meteor down towards them.

Yury fired a beam of light from his fingertip right through the center, shattering it into pieces instantly.

'Damn it...I hope this works!' The pieces of the meteor continued to fall towards Yury. While not as big as the original, they were still sizable enough to cause a decent sized earthquake if they landed.

Yury scoffed and closed his eyes, stretching his arms out to his sides.

"Ice Dragon's Crystal Storm." He opened his eyes once again and swiped his arms towards the asteroids, creating a cold wind that crystallized all of the rocks. When they fell to the ground, they only shattered into ice, preventing the ground from rupturing.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Grand Chariot!"

"Hm?" Yury looked up to find Mystogan in the sky, with many magic seals behind him.

'That's more than seven...28? That's four times the strength of the normal spell.' Mystogan performed the hand seal that sent the magic seals crashing down towards him.

"There's something you should understand, boy. Against a normal opponent, you'd have a clear advantage, but…" A sphere of darkness formed around him, while the blasts from Mystogan's spell disintegrated as they hit it. Mystogan landed on the ground, panting, and clearly intimidated.

"I'm no ordinary opponent. Lightning Magic, Light Magic, Black Arts, the 3 Great Fairy Magics, eight different Dragon Slayer Magics, Light God Slaying Magic, Light God Magic, and God Soul. I've mastered all of these."

"Does that mean...you're actually stronger than Layla?" Mystogan asked, down on one knee.

"That's debated within the empire, even between the two of us. I believe Layla's a little bit stronger than me, but she still thinks that I'm stronger, since we never fought each other at 100%. But there's one thing everyone agrees on: I'm the more dangerous opponent." He began walking forward.

"I'm sure you know this better than most. Layla isn't quick to anger. If she doesn't want to fight, she doesn't. Myself, though...I have no problem wiping out someone who's standing in my way." He pointed his finger at Mystogan and fired a beam of light through him.

"Gah…" He spit up blood and fell over.

"It's look like I was right. You were just a minor distraction after all that wasted my time." He walked up to his body and kicked him over onto his back.

"Light God's Obliteration." He placed his foot on Mystogan's chest before it became surrounded in golden light. Yury pressed down harder before Mystogan's body began to glow in the same color and suddenly evaporated into light particles. Yury walked back towards Fairy Tail.

"Hey. Where do you think you're going?"

"!" He turned around to find Mystogan standing across from him with his arms raised up and crossed, beginning to form a black hole.

"A clone?!"

"You're arrogant." he grinned. "You were fighting a clone from the beginning. And you were so focused on finishing the fight quickly that you didn't even realize it was fake. And that gave me time to restore my magic power."

"Damn you…"

"Considering how strong you are, a head on attack will never be enough to beat you. So the only way is with a special kind of spell." The black hole got bigger and became dotted with little white and yellow lights, representing stars in space.

"This force...a black hole?" Yury looked around to find debris beginning to be pulled into the magic.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis!" He tossed the black hole towards Yury, who remained still, activating Death Predation again. But this time, the black hole went through his field like it was nothing. He quickly jumped back and started keeping his distance.

"You can't disintegrate black holes, you know!" Mystogan yelled, unclipping his magic staves from his back. He began firing beams of energy towards Yury, who deflected them.

'He's trying to overwhelm me. That fool. I have to do something about Altairis though.' He jumped back a great distance before his eyes became black, and his irises glowed red. His teeth sharpened as well, resembling fangs.

'Dragon Slayer Magic, huh?' Mystogan said to himself.

"Darkness Dragon's Roar!" Yury blasted a beam of purple and black energy with red lightning surrounding it towards the spell, but it only got absorbed.

"Damn, darkness won't work. Light God's Apollo." He combined his God Slaying Magic with his Light God abilities, creating black light.

'If this doesn't work, then…'

"Light God's Pulverization!" he yelled, extending his hand towards the portal and unleashing the energy he stored up in a beam that blasted through and destroyed the Altairis spell. Yury remained still for a moment before turning back to Mystogan.

"Well? That was the best you could do, right?"

"Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song!" The five staves fell from the sky and surrounded Yury while Mystogan performed a few hand signs. Five Magic Circles appeared above him and created a rainbow colored beam of light that crashed down on Yury.

"Light God's Absorption." He stood still while the energy began to disappear, seemingly going into his body.

"What…?" Mystogan asked, lowering his stance.

"Silver, Zeref and I have the ability to nullify and absorb any spell of our own element. After all, Ice is just frozen water, and darkness and light are not physical, so they are easy to absorb. Eileen couldn't absorb earth, as it is entirely a physical element and cannot be transformed into energy. Layla as well can't absorb because of the nature of her magic. Night Magic is meant to warp reality, not be formed into a weapon. It was pointless for you to face me. As I understand, much of your guild uses Light Magic, Makarov and Mavis included. But all you'd be doing is making me stronger."

"That may be true for Heavenly Body, but my Staves use sleep and illusion magic! You shouldn't be able to absorb those."

"You're correct. But the spell you just used, your Sacred Song, summons a beam of light to attack me. Your light magic is useless against me, I can easily overcome your sleeping and illusion spells, and you don't have enough magic power left to create another Altairis like the last one. You've lost, Jellal."

"Death God's Blow!" Yury didn't have enough time to react before he got slammed in his side and sent flying.

"Mavis?!" Mystogan yelled.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine...what are you doing here? And what happened to the others?"

"I left Laxus in charge of them. I need to be here. To settle things with Yury." she said, stepping forward with a determined look on her face.

"Mavis. You came to me this time." Yury walked back towards her. "Have you thought about what I said before?"

"Yes…" she replied, looking down. "And this time, I have an answer for you."

"Oh? And what is it?"

"You're not wrong. Many of the guild's problems stem from me running away. If I hadn't, I might have been able to prevent Precht from founding Grimoire Heart...but I shouldn't dwell on the past. What happened happened. And with Makarov dead, the responsibility of leading Fairy Tail falls to me! If I die, so be it, but...I have to try! I believe that you'll still come back!"

"...That's your answer?"

"Yes."

"It's disappointing. You know you can't beat me, and you've only accepted what I said before. I figured you'd have enough confidence to deny me, Mavis. I guess I was wrong."

"It's not an answer I can explain easily." she fired back. "If you truly want to understand where I'm coming from, then fight me. I'll prove it to you with my fists."

"Very well." Yury said with no hesitation. "Let's begin. But this time, I won't hold back."

 **X**

"Mira…where is she?" Laxus asked, looking around. "She must be in the city…"

"Laxus!" He looked up to see Mira running towards him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. She got on her knees and hugged him tightly.

"I defeated my opponent, and the first thing I had to do was come see you." she said. She looked over to the side to find Makarov's body.

"So...Master really is…"

"Yes. I'm sorry." She hugged him again, sobbing.

"Awww, look at you two." Vera walked towards the two of them.

"Damn...not again…" Laxus cursed.

"This war is coming to its closing stages, and we've decided to take out your leading members. Jellal already lost to August, and Natsu and Gray are fighting Zeref. Gildarts is fighting August, and while Uncle Yury's fighting Mystogan and Mavis...I figured I should be the one to fight you."

"Hmph. No offense, but I'd rather save my energy and fight your mother."

"I wouldn't advise that." she chuckled. "You'd stand a better chance of winning against me, and besides...it's kind of hard to fight my mother right now." she looked up in the sky.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you if you beat me."

"...Fine." He tried to stand up, but fell down again.

"Laxus!" MIra said worriedly, helping him up. "You're in no condition to fight!"

"She's right. You'll be no fun if you're in that state. Here, drink this." She took out a small vial of blue liquid that she tossed to Laxus. He caught it and stared at it for a moment.

"It's a healing remedy my mother made. It heals all of your wounds and restores your magic power to its peak. She meant for me to have it, but I don't see the point if you're just going to fall over and die at this point. He took off the cork and drank half of it, as his bandages fell off and wounds healed themselves.

"Here." He gave the rest to Mira. "You should drink some too." He stood up much easier now, and felt all of his magic power come back to him. She drank it too, and all of her wounds healed themselves.

"Ahh...I really needed that." she sighed.

"Why give us such a handicap?"

"What would be the point if I didn't fight you at full power? Now bring it. Let's settle who's stronger, once and for all." she smirked.

 **End.**


	18. Rivals

**Songs**

 **Laxus vs. Vera Begins: The Cyborg Fights (One Punch Man OST)**

 **Red Lightning vs. Star Dragon Slayer: Berserk Battle (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Black Heavenly Body Magic: Rising Dragon (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Chaos Dragon Mode: Fire Dragon vs. Flame God (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Chaos Dragon vs. Black Heavenly Body Magic: Uncontrollable Evil (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Dragon Force Battle: Yusuke Power Up Theme (Yu Yu Hakusho OST)**

 **Chaos Dragon Force vs. Black Star Dragon Force: You Say Run (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Laxus and Mirajane: You Can Be A Hero (My Hero Academia OST)**

"Laxus, are you sure you're up to this?" Mira asked, concerned.

"Don't worry. This won't be like last time." He punched his fists together.

"Whenever you're ready." Vera said, unwrapping her scarf from around her neck and dropping it to the ground.

"I guess I'll start. Lightning Dragon's Heavenly Halberd!" He created a lightning trident in his hands and threw it towards her. She shifted her body to the side, dodging it. The lance exploded when it hit the ground, causing electricity to surge.

"Meteor." Vera became engulfed in a golden glow, before instantly kicking Laxus back and running around behind him, kicking him upwards. She continued jumping around and knocking him back and forth.

"Damn it! I've had enough!" he yelled, stopping her from striking him again. "Raging Bolt!" Instead of creating the explosion on the ground, he used it on himself, creating an outward sphere that Vera tried to block with her hands, but got electrocuted instead.

"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!" Laxus teleported above her and punched her to the ground. He rushed down, standing over her as she hit the terrain and floated up a bit due to the blowback.

"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!" He locked his fists together and slammed them down on her back, making her fall back down and crack the area.

"Sorry if I'm being a bit too rough. But I'm sure you can handle it."

"...Death Pillar."

"!" Laxus jumped backwards just in time, as Vera's spear of darkness almost impaled him. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"Damn. That kind of hurt." she laughed, reaching her arm around and rubbing her back.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!" She pointed her fingers downward before swinging her right arm up behind her and pointing to the sky. A meteor fell down towards them.

"So? Think you can block this?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Raiko! Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" He charged red lightning around himself before creating an electric magic circle and launching a giant red lightning fist towards the meteor. The two clashed, and Laxus' spell eventually overcame it and blew it up.

"Enough games. We both know that your Heavenly Body Magic isn't enough to stop me."

"...Star Dragon's Iron Fist!" She appeared in front of Laxus in a flash and punched him backwards. Laxus recovered and wiped the blood off his mouth.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

"Star Dragon's Roar!" The two fired bursts of energy at each other, but this time Vera's easily overcame Laxus' and injured him.

"Laxus!" Mira cried.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!" He appeared behind her and electrocuted her with a blast of lightning.

"You have no sense of chivalry. How could you shock a young girl like that?" she mocked.

"Shut up. You know that I'm not here to mess around. I would never fight a woman seriously unless they're trying to kill me."

"And you think I'm trying to kill you?"

"Maybe not, but you're fighting like you are."

"Heh. Then let's see if you can survive while I'm serious. Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Celestial Crusher!" She rushed towards him faster than he could react to and slammed her foot into his chest. The force from her kick destroyed the surrounding area, and sent Laxus hurling back, heading towards a cliff.

"Laxus!" Mira flew behind him and caught him, lessening the impact when they hit the wall of the plateau.

"Ow...are you alright?" Laxus asked, sitting up.

"Yeah, I'm okay. But what about yourself? She hit you pretty hard…"

"Don't worry...I'll be okay-UGH!" He fell over, feeling an immense amount of pain in his chest. Mira wrapped her arms around him, transferring some of her magic power into him.

"There. Hopefully that should help. It's a special kind of healing spell Master taught to me."

"Yeah, it did. Thanks." He stood up again and ran towards Vera.

"Raiko!" His red lightning surged around him again.

"It didn't work before, and it won't work again!" She dodged his attacks and continued landing blows against him.

'Damn it. Star Dragon Slayer magic is really strong…'

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" He released a blast of red lightning from his mouth.

"Star Dragon's Roar!" She countered back again, with her own blast of golden energy. The two beams exploded and cancelled each other out.

"That will happen every time you use it. I'll just retaliate with my own roar. You never learn, do you?"

"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fists!" He charged lightning up on both of his hands and tried to hit her, swinging continuously. She just kept dodging it.

"You'll never be able to beat me, Laxus. And it's not just because I'm stronger than you. It's because of our fighting styles. Despite using lightning magic, you're more of a power type, while I'm a speed fighter. You're slow, and I'm fast. As simple as that."

"But I could hit you a few times in our last fight." he grinned.

"Keep in mind that half of those hits were landed on a clone that was only half as strong as me."

"I promised Mira that I would win this time. And I always keep my promises, especially to her."

"How sweet. Too bad this one will be an exception. Star Dragon's Wing Slash!" She sped past him and sliced her arms downward, her light cutting through Laxus, making him bleed from his shoulders.

"Grgh! I have you!" He fought through the pain and spun around, grabbing her by her coat.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!" He charged up red lightning in his fist before releasing it, creating an electric explosion that finally injured Vera.

"Hah...hah…" Laxus breathed. "I hope that did something…"

"Well done…" she said, walking out from the smoke. "You managed to deal some damage, and ruin my coat." She threw her coat off to the side, leaving her in a blue long sleeve blouse.

"Now then. Round 2." A black aura surrounded her.

 **X**

"You motherfucker...just try laying even a single finger on Cana...I'll show you a special hell that puts death to shame!"

"You stupid…! Don't go falling for the enemy's provocations!" Cana warned.

Gildarts ran up to August and threw a punch, which he caught. He threw him down to the ground.

"So...all children love their parents...and in turn, parents love their children...is that right?"

"You're damn right it is!" He started getting up again before August thrust his staff against Gildarts' chest.

"In that case...then pray tell me! Why was His Majesty's child not loved?" He charged up energy in his staff and created an explosion around them that heavily injured the S-Class mage.

"Gildarts!" Cana jumped down.

"Stay back, Cana!"

"How long are you going to treat me like I'm still just a kid?! I'm a grown woman, I'll have you know!" she tossed cards towards August that exploded as they hit the ground. He jumped up and avoided them.

"So try giving me some independence, why don't you?" 

"...Nope. I could never let go of my little girl." he smiled, standing back up.

"Why was His Majesty's child not loved…"

 **X**

"I must...I must...protect father…" Rahkeid muttered, crawling through the street that led to Fairy Tail.

"Gah!" Zeref punched Natsu in the face, knocking him back. Natsu punched him in the stomach.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" He unleashed a burst of flame towards the black wizard, but he dispersed it with Death Predation. He grabbed Natsu's foot and swept him upwards, making him fall onto the floor.

" _Gray...Lucy...Happy...You're all at the guild now, are you not?_ "

"First?!" Happy asked.

" _You must leave immediately! I'm also close by. Please, everyone! You must convene with me right away! I need help fighting Yury!_ "

"But Natsu...we can't just leave him here!" Lucy protested.

" _Believe in Natsu...and in me. Hurry! Natsu's fate is completely dependent on you all!_ "

Natsu threw another punch at Zeref, who dodged it by sidestepping.

"What do you mean by that?" Gray asked.

" _I'll fill you in on the particulars after we've met up. There's a possibility that the enemy is intercepting my telepathy._ "

"Natsu's...fate?" Lucy mumbled.

"Let's go! We'll only get in Natsu's way if we hang around here!" Gray said.

"Natsu...don't lose." Lucy told him. He grabbed Zeref's wrists and tossed him over his shoulder and onto the ground.

"Got it!"

"Zeref. I'm leaving this in your hands." Silver said, standing up and leaving with the others. Zeref glanced at him before looking jumping back and looking at Natsu again.

"What fun this is. I must defeat you here and now, or the future of humanity is doomed…And yet, I'm having so much fun. Could this too be caused by the Curse of Contradictions? Or is it simply my own emotions? I'm not entirely sure."

"Quit yapping already!" Zeref's face grew dark as he smirked.

"Either way...I'm absolutely ecstatic." He said darkly, with a murderous look on his face, his eyes glowing blood red.

"You…" Natsu began but felt himself begin to fall forward, feeling exhausted.

"Slumber." Rahkeid said, walking up behind him.

"Who...the hell are you…?" Natsu mumbled.

"Rahkeid…"

"Father...I made it in time."

"Father?! Dammit! Snap out of it! Now's not the time to be sleeping!" Natsu punched himself repeatedly.

"Now...while the enemy is flustered...hurry up and kill this hindrance! And be released from the curse of your younger brother! Let his pure white soul ascend to the free heavens!" 

'...Don't interrupt…..Stop reminding me of….her…!' Zeref gritted his teeth angrily, his eyes seething with rage. He blasted a twister of darkness through Rahkeid's torso.

"Wha-?!" he coughed.

" **Do not interrupt us.** " he said darkly.

"Why was His Majesty's child not loved?" August asked.

 **X**

"What's up with Zeref?" Gray asked.

"His mind has begun to be influenced by Erebus."

"Erebus?" Lucy asked.

"The God of Darkness, the one who watches over the Dragneel family. He is the most dangerous one to be descended from. When Zeref and Natsu fight, their personalities become much darker, do they not?" Silver asked.

"Not...really-" Lucy began. 

"Yes." Gray cut her off, remembering Natsu's END powers beginning to surface.

"That is Erebus influencing their minds. The more compatible their nature of magic, the easier it is to manipulate them. In Rahkeid's case, it would be somewhat difficult, considering he uses Pleasure Magic, a derivative of Light. However, Natsu's is fire, which is compatible with darkness, and Zeref's is Ankhseram and Darkness itself, making it very easy. Erebus is the type of god that likes to take advantage of a situation when an opportunity presents itself."

"...What do you know about Nyx?" Lucy asked suddenly. "What's she like."

" _I'd have liked you to meet her, but there's nothing we can do. You'll just have to meet her when you and your friends go up to Olympus."_

Victoria's words still rang in Lucy's head, and she wondered what her own family's god was like. She hoped she wasn't like Erebus…

"I don't know her personally, but she's supposed to be nice enough. She's strong, and doesn't hesitate to take down someone who gets in her way, but she's not malevolent. She cares for her family, especially for your mother. Layla once told me that she's looking forward to meeting you." Lucy sighed in relief, happy that her matriarch was nice enough to consider family.

"And ours?" Gray asked, curiously.

"Uranus is...a man of few words. I myself haven't talked to him too many times. We don't have the kind of friendly relationship that Layla and Nyx have. Unlike her, he thinks that God Soul users are a means to an end, and he's not too attached to us, regardless of whether we're his family or not. He used to be the ruler of the primordials, so he believes that mortals are not as important as gods. Most of the others are like that too."

"But mortals are their creations, right?" Lucy asked.

"Mortals are not nearly as strong as gods. Even your mother is not as strong as Nyx. Gods shouldn't have an emotional connection to this world. Just look at your grandmother. Her duty as a destroyer comes first before her family. That's why Nyx is sometimes chastised by the others for favoring the Heartfilias too much."

"Well...I'm happy that she believes in us. We're family, and she should." Lucy smiled.

"Don't let that dissuade you from the truth. She's fond of you, but she's not overly attached. If she needs to fight you, she will. She still holds her job as a god in high regard."

 **X**

"Huh? What's going on?" Laxus asked. Vera's body was covered in both a black and golden aura.

"This is the same principle as Dual Mode. I'm simply layering one element over the other. This is an ability that mom taught me. Black Heavenly Body Magic." The golden aura disappeared, and only the black one remained. "I combine the speed of Heavenly Body Magic with the lethality of Ankhseram Magic. I'll be impressed if you survive this. Black Meteor!" She ran around Laxus with a black trail of energy following behind her, faster than before.

'Damn it...I wasn't expecting this…' Laxus thought.

'No...he'll be killed…!' Mira thought. Vera rushed up to him and kicked him back far.

"LAXUS!" Mira screamed. He got hit by Ankhseram magic...His life was over.

"Don't worry, Mira!" Laxus called out.

"Huh?" she asked. Was she hearing things? Laxus appeared next to her and put his arm around her.

"My body's developed an immunity to her magic. Thanks to your Darkness Stream that time, I'm not affected by it anymore." Mira sighed in relief. Laxus rushed back up to her and punched forward, but she teleported away before he could blink.

"Black Comet!" She cast, clapping her hands together before unleashing a beam of black energy from them.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Laxus shouted again, expelling a blast of red lightning from his lungs. But alas, his power was easily destroyed by Vera's own strength, and heavily damaged him.

"Do you see what I mean?" she sighed and smiled, shaking her head and raising her hands up, shrugging.

"I still haven't gone all out yet, you know." he said.

"You won't get that chance. True Black Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!" She performed the maneuver for Sema, but not just any normal meteor came falling down from the sky. This one was covered in blazing black flames. **[A/N: You know how in Naruto Storm 4, when Sasuke uses Planetary Devastation and lights it on fire with Amaterasu to make it covered in purple and black flames before it explodes? Think that.]**

"Well? Go ahead. Stop it." she grinned, extending her arms out as the meteor fell from behind her.

"...Chaos Dragon Mode!" Laxus yelled out, before being covered in a purple and black aura and dark purple and red lightning. "Chaos Dragon's Heavenward Battleaxe!" Laxus formed his giant double bladed axe and swung it towards the meteor, slicing it in half. He then swung vertically, cutting up the two halves into quarters.

"True Black Heavenly Body Magic: Grand Chariot!" She jumped into the air and cast numerous black magic seals. They began to rain down towards Laxus.

"Chaos Dragon's Roar!" He moved his roar from left to right, shooting all of the attacks out of the sky.

"Too slow." Vera said from behind him, punching him in the back, sending him rolling across the ground. He gritted his teeth and roared again, hitting Vera right in the chest, making her fall back onto the ground too. They both got up onto their knees, breathing heavily.

"Mira...listen to me." Laxus choked.

"Eh? W-What?"

"Don't interfere. No matter how much I get hurt. Even if I end up losing, don't fight her until I say I give up. You got that?"

"What?! No! I'm not letting you put yourself in danger like that!" she cried.

"Please! This is the one fight in this entire war...that I absolutely must fight by myself." he said, determined.

"The same goes for me." Vera replied.

"I….oh, very well...but don't lose." she pleaded, her blue eyes locking with his gray ones.

"You got it."

The two rushed at each other and clashed with a powerful punch before trading blows back and forth.

"Chaos Dragon's Iron Fists!"

"Star Dragon's Iron Fists!" The two continued punching each other hard, getting knocked back continuously.

"Black Comet!"

"Chaos Dragon's Roar!" The two beams of energy were fired at close range and exploded, sending the two combatants reeling backwards onto the ground. Mira winced. Neither of the two got up again, staying down and flinching at the pain. Laxus' Dual Mode disappeared.

"Damn it…" Laxus cursed. "I can't let this battle end like this…I need to prove...who's stronger…"

"It's me...I'm the better...disciple…" Vera muttered.

"Better disciple?" Mira asked. Oh, that's right. Laxus did mention that Layla was his and Mystogan's teacher. And if Vera's her daughter, then she was probably taught by her too. But were they really fighting so hard for such a petty reason? She felt their magic power begin to spike to levels she'd never felt from anyone except Yury's before, not even Eileen's was as strong as this. They fought through the pain and got up to their feet, their arms hanging limply.

'Huh? Are those...scales?' Mira asked herself, looking at the two. Dragon's scales were forming on their faces, and their arms. Bright yellow lightning chained around Laxus, while golden energy pulsated around Vera.

'Are they...smiling?!'

"Do you feel that magic power?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah. That's Laxus." Gray said.

"And the other one must be Vera…" she muttered.

"Strange. There's no malice in either of their powers…" Silver said.

"Of course not." Natsu grinned, chuckling.

"What do you mean? What's so funny?" Lucy asked.

"I know that feeling. I feel the same way whenever Gray and I fight. It's friendly competition. Those two are rivals."

"DRAGON FORCE!" the two yelled.

'Impossible...they achieved Dragon Force through sheer willpower?!' Mira thought, watching the battle in awe.

"Let's go, Vera!"

"Bring it!" The two rushed at each other and clashed, creating a huge crater around them.

"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!" Instead of tossing it, Laxus continued using his halberd as a weapon and slashed Vera across the stomach.

"Star Dragon's Daggers!" She formed two curved knives in her hands, made out of light energy. The two weapons continued cutting the two Dragon Slayers up continuously.

"Star Dragon's Celestial Slash!"

"Lightning Dragon's Electrical Thrust!" He shoved the spear towards her and impaled her, making her cough up blood. She cut across his face with one of his blades, making a sizable scar just above his nose. The two broke away from each other. Vera pulled the halberd out of her stomach and used a healing spell to close up the hole. Her light energy tore up her shirt, leaving only a black sports bra. Her leggings started ripping too, but they remained on her.

"Star Dragon's Shining Brilliance!" she clapped her hands together, creating a blinding flash of light that allowed her to land some more hits on Laxus. He caught one of her punches and threw her aside.

"Lightning Dragon's Jaw!" He locked his fists and smashed them down towards her, but she rolled to the side, avoiding it.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Celestial Crusher!" She flipped up and kicked Laxus back again, her energy cutting up his chest.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder Explosion!" He used Roaring Thunder in the form of a sphere and tossed it towards her. She dodged, and the orb exploded on impact.

"Hah...hah...hah…"

"Hah...hah….hah…" they were both close to the end of their stamina.

"It's time...we finished this...don't you think?" she asked, smirking.

"Yeah…Let's do it."

Vera's energy spiked up more around her while she layered her Black Heavenly Body aura onto her Dragon Force Scales. She now had a golden aura and another black one above it, both rushing around her like crazy.

"Black Star Dragon Force." she said, standing back up from her bent forward position.

Laxus reignited his Chaos Dragon Mode and layered it on top of his scales, giving him a yellow and purple aura, with black lightning around him.

"Chaos Dragon Force." he retaliated.

"Let's finish this in one shot. Black Star Dragon's Iron Fist!" She charged up black energy onto her fist, her magic power creating a huge gust of wind and sphere of power around her, making a large crater beneath her feet.

"Chaos Dragon's Iron Fist!" Laxus, in turn, charged up a purple aura around his fist, while red and black lightning zapped around it. His power shattered the ground below him, creating a crevice of similar size to hers.

They stared each other down, waiting for one of them to make a move.

"...Win." Mira said, before both students dashed out of their places and towards each other at full speed. Everything seemed to move in slow motion to all three of them.

" _Vera, I want you to remember something, whenever you think of me. Despite my fondness of Lucy, I'll always love you. You are my pride and joy, because you are the daughter of the man I love, not the man I once loved."_

She felt herself crying, rushing towards him, while more power charged up in her fist. She smiled.

'I love you, Mom.'

" _Laxus, I know it was hard for you to grow up without a mother at your side. But I was in the same boat as you. And I found myself making the closest bonds with those that became my family, not those who were. You'll always be a part of my family." she smiled at him._

A few tears fell down his face as well, as he smiled as well.

'Thank you, Layla. You'll always be part of my family, too.'

At long last, their fists clashed, and the whole area exploded around them. Mira jumped up on top of the cliff to avoid being caught up in it. A huge eruption of black and gold magic power skyrocketed up into the sky, tearing even the clouds apart. When the energy finally died down, the two stood completely still, their faces dark, and blood, scratches, and dirt covering their bodies. Laxus stumbled forward and almost fell, but forced himself to stay up. Vera smiled, and felt herself fall.

"It looks like...I lost…" She fell forward, losing consciousness.

'Sorry Mom...Dad…'

"I won…" Laxus mumbled, barely audible. He fell back against the ground.

"Laxus!" Mira scaled back down the cliff and ran up towards him, kneeling down. "Oh my god, are you alright?!" She put her ear to his chest and could hear a steady heartbeat. She sighed in relief.

"Laxus...you're a big dummy, you know that?" she sobbed, smiling at him.

"Yeah...I know…" he chuckled.

"You should have asked me for help."

"No...I told you I needed to do it on my own and that I would take care of it. And I did." he smiled, putting his hand up to Mira's cheek. She put her own hand on his and smiled lovingly.

"Next time, promise me that you won't do it alone."

"Of course. I promise."

"Good…..I love you." This surprised him greatly, and he was stunned for a few moments, but a smile slowly formed on his mouth, and he replied in kind.

"I love you too." That was all she needed to hear. Mira slowly bent down and captured Laxus' rough pale lips with her own soft, pink ones.

 **End.**

 **Shorter chapter, but I was planning on focusing on the Laxus vs. Vera fight in one, and then Mavis vs. Yury in the next. Did you enjoy it? Mira and Laxus finally kissed! XDXDXD So, this is the one ship in Fairy Tail that I truly hope will come true at the end of the series, because let's be honest, Mashima has gotten so obvious that Nalu, Gruvia, Gajevy, and Jerza will become canon. So, I'm hoping that Miraxus will be a thing. Leave a Review! Mavis and Yury are next, get ready for some sick music picks and an emotional fight.**


	19. Darkness & Light, Failure & Hypocrite

**Songs**

 **Mavis vs. Yury: Shinobi World at Stake (Naruto Storm 3 OST)**

 **Immune to Death Magic: AZPV (Aldnoah Zero OST)**

 **Yury's Dragon Slayer Magics: Waltz of Wind and Blaze (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **August's Last Wish: The Atonement (Full Metal Alchemist OST)**

 **Yury Impales August: Huge Villain Appearance (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Mavis' Anger: Spaceship (One Punch Man OST)**

 **Battle of God Magics: Hard Battle (Boruto Naruto the Movie OST)**

 **Mavis' God Soul: Duel of the Souls (Yugioh Zexal OST)**

 **God Soul Mavis vs. Yury: Tragic Decision (Yugioh Zexal OST)**

 **Yury's God Soul: Martyr (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **God Soul Battle: Kasei (Aldnoah Zero OST)**

Yury and Mavis continued staring each other down.

'It's finally time...It's been 92 years since then…'

"Having second thoughts?" Mavis asked.

"You wish. I'll say it as many times as I need to. I have no problem killing you."

 _ **X696**_

" _It's a boy!" Everyone in the guild cheered._

" _Master, why don't you do the honors? Name him." Rita said, out of breath from just giving birth._

" _Hmmm…..what about Makarov?" she suggested. "It's the name of a kind prince that I once read about."_

" _Sounds good." Yury smirked. Mavis reached over and placed her hand on top of Rita's fondly._

" _...?!" Rita gasped before beginning to hyperventilate._

" _Rita? Rita!" Yury yelled. "Help her!" Precht ran up and tried to get her to calm down, but her condition seemed to worsen quickly before she stopped moving. Precht felt her pulse._

" _She's gone…"_

 _Mavis stepped back, bewildered._

" _ **Mavis, it's not that you haven't been aging, it's that you're immortal, like me! You've got the Contradicting Curse. The more you grow to love those around you, the more they'll perish before your eyes."**_

' _I didn't listen...I didn't listen…! I DIDN'T LISTEN!' She ran out of the guild, crying._

" _Mavis, wait! Mavis!" Warrod called after her._

 _ **Four Years Later**_

" _Precht, I'm going on a mission." Yury said._

" _Alright. Have fun." he replied. A year after Mavis ran away, Zeref delivered her body to Precht. He took it down into the guild's basement and encased it inside of a giant lacrima, experimenting on her in attempts to keep her alive. He didn't tell anyone of this, of course. He convinced them that it was time to stop looking, at that they should presume that she was dead. They built a grave for her on Tenroujima._

" _Let's see...gather herbs on Tenroujima. That's it? Easy." Yury got on the train to Hargeon and took a boat there the rest of the way._

" _Alright, they should be right around...huh?" He looked off towards a nearby pond, where he saw a familiar mage lying on the bank._

" _Sensei?" He called out._

" _Hm?" He looked towards the man who called out to him. "Oh, it's you. Yury. What are you doing here?"_

" _I came here as part of a job. Why are you here?"_

" _This is where I stay. I try to stay as far away from civilization as I can."_

" _How come?" He sat down near him._

" _You shouldn't be near me. I'm cursed."_

" _What's the curse?"_

" _Ankhseram's Curse. The Curse of Contradiction. The more I care for people, the more I unintentionally kill them. I can only control my powers the colder I get."_

" _I see…And right now?"_

" _I haven't cared about people in a long time now. You don't have to worry." Yury relaxed somewhat._

" _If you don't mind me asking, how did you get this curse? I've never heard of it before."_

" _I...brought someone dear to me back to life...Ankhseram, the God of Death, inflicted this curse on me to teach me a lesson about the value of human life. You've never heard of this? Mavis had the same curse…"_

" _...What did you say?"_

" _She didn't tell any of you? That surprises me. You see, when she casted Law to save you, she was afflicted with it. It's an incomplete spell."_

" _Incomplete? What kind of side effects were there?"_

" _She stopped aging, didn't she?" Yury's eyes narrowed. "Your eyes tell me everything I need to know. It's not that she stopped aging, it's that she's immortal. In addition, she gained the curse that I mentioned."_

" _Wait a minute...does that mean…?"_

" _What?"_

" _My wife...the day my son was born...my wife died suddenly. We thought that it was from going into labor, but…"_

" _Ah, so that's why she was like that."_

" _What do you mean?" Yury was becoming angrier._

" _Mavis mentioned that you were going to have a child when I saw her a few years ago. I warned her about her curse, but she didn't want to believe me, and ran off. Your son was born in X696, right? I saw her in X697 looking miserable."_

" _She ran off after Rita died…"_

" _Then she was probably the one who killed your wife Rita. I feel that I should remind you that it must have been an accident."_

" _...You don't have to remind me. But if you warned her beforehand, she should have listened and asked us for help…" he clenched his fists._

" _...Yury. I have a proposition for you."_

" _And what would that be?"_

" _I want you to join me."_

" _Join you?"_

" _Yes. I'm sure you've heard of me before? Zeref Dragneel is my full name."_

" _Zeref? The Black Wizard? And your last name is Dragneel…"_

" _Yes. You're a Dreyar, and I'm a Dragneel. I assume you know what that means?"_

" _Are you Erebus' chosen one?"_

" _Indeed. And you are Aether's chosen one. I could sense it inside of you when I first met you."_

" _Yes...my parents told me about the five gods and their families when I was young. What did you want me to join you for?"_

" _A few things. I'm building an empire in Alakatasia currently. It's called Alvarez. But as of now, I'm the only one running it. I don't have any generals or advisors to help command my forces. I'd like you to become my right hand and help me out."_

" _In conquering a continent? I'm not sure…"_

" _On the surface, it doesn't sound so great. But I assure you, there are more noble motives than just that. I'm trying to conquer this world to unite the world under one empire. I want to stop all wars. The second motive is to defeat Acnologia, a powerful Dragon Slayer turned Dragon who sows destruction and death everywhere he treads. And the third is to revive my younger brother so that he can kill me and prevent me from killing anyone else."_

" _Your younger brother?"_

" _Yes. His name is Natsu. When we were children, a dragon attacked our home, and he, along with my parents, were killed. I decided to study magic in order to bring him back to life, and that's when I got my curse. I'm immortal, nobody can kill me, except for him. I modified him to have a dormant demon power hidden inside of him. E.N.D. Etherious Natsu Dragneel. When I'm finally able to revive him, his purpose will be to end my life, so that I can stop taking the lives of others."  
_

" _...I see."_

" _Fairy Tail won't change, you know. Mavis didn't tell you about her curse, and Precht didn't tell you that she's technically still alive. He knows, I told him."_

" _He knows, does he? That bastard…"_

" _Join me, Yury. I wish to find the other three descendants of the gods as well, and I need your help to do that."_

" _...Fairy Tail won't change, huh?"_

" _Probably not. After all, the next guildmaster, whoever that may be, will probably keep their deepest secrets under wraps as well."_

" _Give me some time. I want to think about it."_

" _Of course. How much time do you need?"_

" _A week."_

" _Very well. I'll still be here."_

" _I'll be back to let you know."_

 _ **X**_

" _Well?" Zeref asked, sensing his presence as he returned._

" _We staged an attack on a dark guild. Even though what they were doing was wrong for the world, I'm sure it seemed right to them. Mavis always said that Fairy Tail is a place for its members to come home to. That it's a place where we can take care of each other. But what does that mean for anyone who's not a member? Like that dark guild, if someone threatens one of us, we'd crush them without a second thought. Regardless of our motives."_

" _Now you see what I mean. I'm all for the idea of family. After all, you got married and had a son, and I loved my own family. But there's a certain line that your guild crosses. They need to take in the consideration of others as well."_

" _Yeah. I'm going to join you."_

" _Are you sure? There's no going back, quite literally. Even if you leave, you'll return to a country that will consider you a traitor to your homeland."_

" _I'm sure. I won't leave."_

" _Then let's get started. I have big plans for you." He stood up across from him. "First of all, if you want to join, we should fake your death. You'll be able to do as you please, and your guild will be none the wiser. So let's take care of that first."_

" _...Very well. How do you plan to pull it off?"_

" _Dragon's Blood. Drink a drop of this, and create a clone of yourself. That clone will have a physical body, rather than an ethereal one. Then, we inject a virus into the clone. It will return to the guildhall, where Precht will determine that you have a terminal illness. That will give you enough time to pack some things to take with you."_

" _Then let's begin."_

 _ **X**_

" _...Does it feel strange? Watching your own funeral?" The two stood atop a hill, looking down into the town's cemetery, where Yury's funeral was happening._

" _No. Because I didn't die. Everyone only thinks that I did."_

" _What did you do about your son?"_

" _Precht promised me that he'd take care of him. So I have nothing to worry about. But eventually, I'll have to face him in battle. I know that much."_

" _Indeed. Do you want to stay for the rest of this?"_

" _No. I don't need to. Let's get going."_

" _Very well. You have everything you need? You can always get more items in Vistarion."_

" _Yeah."_

" _Alright then. Dark God's Portal." Zeref swiped his index finger down through the air, opening up a black spacial distortion. It became wide enough for a person to walk through._

" _Follow me." Yury swung his bag over his shoulder, and the two walked in, surrounded by black space, but there was enough light to see each other. He opened another one, and they stepped out into the center of a large city._

" _This is Vistarion, the capital of Alvarez. Welcome." Yury looked around._

" _It's much bigger than Magnolia."_

" _Of course. Fiore is a rather small country compared to this. Let's not waste any time. You can always return later." The two walked towards the palace, greeted by some of the guards. Zeref took Yury into a large conference room._

" _Have a seat." Once they sat down, Zeref folded his hands under his chin and looked at his new second-in-command._

" _First, I'd like to tell you about my plans for military structure. As it is now, the empire has around 250,000 soldiers. I'd like to quadruple that number by the time that we invade Ishgar, in about 60 years."_

" _...You realize that I'll be in my 80s in 60 years, right?"_

" _Let me finish, and then we'll address that. I want 12 powerful mages to act as my generals. I'll call them the Spriggan 12, my shields, since everyone here knows me as Emperor Spriggan. Above them, will be the five of us, which I'll call the Five Gods of Alakitasia."_

" _It's like the Four Gods of Ishgar."_

" _Yes, but considering our abilities, we'll be much stronger than them. Now then, your aging issue. I'm going to teach you the Black Arts. And once you cast Law, you'll have the same immortality that I do."_

" _But won't I be cursed as well?"_

" _Yes, but it will be easier to control for you. Like Mavis, you're a second generation user. You were taught it by me, whereas I was punished with it. The rest of your skills are your own to learn after that."_

" _I understand."_

" _Then let's not waste any time."_

 _ **X702**_

" _Zeref. I've done it."_

" _You've gained control?"_

" _Yes. I'm going into town to get a few things. Afterwards, I'll begin searching for allies."_

" _Very well. I've informed the soldiers of your new rank as general." Yury walked into town and bought some new clothes, before hearing some of the soldiers talk about a new shop._

" _Yeah, there's a new exotic magic shop in town. He's a travelling salesman and he's only in town for a few days."_

" _I took a look before, he even has some Dragon Slayer Lacrima!"_

" _What? No way!"_

' _Dragon Slayer Lacrima? Those could come in handy.'_

" _Excuse me." Yury walked up to the two._

" _Oh! General, sir!" They stood at attention._

" _At ease." They relaxed. "I'm interested in this magic shop you've been talking about. Where is it?"_

" _It's down that way. It's not much of a shop, it's more of a cart."_

" _That's fine. I think I'm going to take a look."_

" _That'd help him out as well. Not many people here are mages at the moment, so he hasn't gotten much business."_

" _I see. Thank you." He walked off towards the cart._

" _Ah! Welcome!" the salesman said._

" _Thank you. What do you have here?"_

" _My special items today are Dragon Slayer Lacrimas! I have 8 of them in stock."_

" _Which kinds?" Yury looked at the 8 crystals laid out in front of him. They were all different colors: Fiery Red, Ocean Blue, Dark Green, Light Blue, Light Green, Sky Blue, Tan, and Black._

" _Ah! They're all different elements: There's Purgatory, which is fire, Sea, which is water, Cavern, which is earth, Voltaic, which is lightning, Gale, which is wind, Ice, Sand, and Darkness."_

" _...I'll take all of them."_

" _Huh? Really?! They're not cheap, you know…"_

" _How much?"_

" _All together, they'd be about 10,000 jewels."_

" _That's fine. I'll take them."_

" _Wow! Thank you so much!" He wrapped up the crystals in cloth and handed them to his customer. He waved goodbye as Yury headed back up to the palace._

 _"Welcome back. What did you get?"_

" _A few outfits. And these." He showed Zeref. "A salesman had them as a special offer."_

" _Impressive. What are you going to do with them?"_

" _I want you to implant them into me. All of them. That will get me the strength of a Spriggan."_

" _Heh. I see." Zeref led him into an infirmary. Yury laid on the table while the black mage set the 8 lacrima onto a nearby table._

" _You've done this before, right?"_

" _Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."_

 _ **X750**_

" _Well? Are you ready?" Yury asked._

" _Come on in." For the past 50 or so years, Yury had worn a black t-shirt and his black pants, since he spent most of his time training. He had hung up his black turtleneck and leather coat in the back of his closet, as he didn't see himself wearing them anymore. Instead, he chose to wear one of his new outfits that he got since coming to Vistarion. He walked into the throne room, where Zeref sat._

 _He now wore white, black and red ceremonial robes, with the end of it being longer, resembling a cloak. He wore black pants and black boots, but his most noticeable features were his hair and his back. He had spiked up two strands of his hair to resemble rabbit ears, and had built a dharma wheel of blades that he attached to his back. He looked like a divine figure now, not just any normal mage._

" _Wow. Your Magic Power has surpassed even mine."_

" _Yes. I've spent the last 48 years training. I mastered Lightning and Light Magic, my 8 Dragon Slayer Magics, Light God Slayer Magic, Light God Magic, and God Soul."_

" _God Slayer as well?"_

" _Yes. I combine it with my god magic to make it stronger and more effective."_

" _I see. Well then, I thought I'd inform you that I've discovered the location of two more of us. Layla Heartfilia and Silver Fullbuster."_

" _Oh? And where might they be?"_

" _In a small town in Seven, the country northeast of Fiore."_

" _So you're saying I should go back to Ishgar."_

" _Yes, but only to keep an eye on them. I don't want to approach them until later on, when they're older."_

" _Then it's lucky for you that I already came up with a plan. While I was training here, I had a Dragon's Blood Clone go to Fiore already, and join the Magic Council. The leader is going to assign me the rank of 1st Wizard Saint within the coming week, he already informed me. I'll make sure to keep an eye on those two. In the meantime, I'll look for allies to join the 12, both here and over there."_

" _Excellent. I'll look as well."_

 _ **X760**_

" _Lord Yury." August welcomed._

" _Yes?"_

" _It's time. His Majesty has called us for a meeting. They walked into the conference room._

" _Welcome, you two." Yury had recruited August and Bloodman over the past few years to serve as generals of the army._

" _What is it?"_

" _I've decided to attack three days from now."_

" _A little trigger happy, are we?" Yury asked. "With all due respect, are you sure you're not being impatient? You told me that before we began the invasion, you wanted to quadruple our forces. We've doubled them since then, but we'd have to double them from now to reach one million. You wanted to have 12 generals commanding the army. Myself included, you only have 3 right now. You wanted to assemble the five of us, but we still only have us two. Are you sure you're ready for this? We don't have the statistics that you wanted."_

" _Well, neither does Ishgar. Their forces are smaller than I anticipated as well. I believe that we can pull this off."_

" _...Very well."_

 _ **X**_

" _There. There's Hargeon." Yury pointed out. They had four large ships that they fitted all of the soldiers on. Bloodman was on one, August on another, Yury on the third, and Zeref on the final one._

" _Lord Yury, I see someone. There's a woman standing at the port." August said._

 _Yury took out a spyglass and looked through it. Standing there was a voluptuous woman with long blonde hair that was twisted back, wearing a purple and black gown with black high heels. "That's...Layla's mother. I thought she was dead. What's she doing here? Let my ship go in first!" he ordered. The others obeyed, and they arrived at port, with Yury's ship in front. He walked off onto the dock._

" _What are you doing here?"_

" _I'm here to prevent your invasion."_

" _An unwise choice. You know, I never did catch your name."_

" _Isabella. Isabella Heartfilia. And you're Yury Dreyar."_

" _So you know of me."_

" _Of course. You're in the same league as my daughter. You are a descendant of Aether."_

" _Even knowing that, you stand against us?"_

" _Your power is nothing compared to mine."_

" _Shall we test that theory out?"_

" _Go right ahead. Give it your best shot." Without warning, Yury pointed his finger at her and fired a beam of light towards her heart. She did nothing but close her eyes and snap her fingers. And the next thing he knew, his own beam had pierced him through his own heart. His eyes widened before he coughed up blood and fell down to his knees._

" _What...What did you do?" he growled._

" _I stopped time and redirected your attack right back at you."_

" _What…? That's impossible."_

" _Nothing's impossible when you use Chaos Magic."_

" _What?!" Zeref yelled, jumping over to them. "Chaos Magic?"_

" _You know of it then? Good for you. I was chosen by Chaos to obtain his powers and become one with him. I am the god of this world. And you can do nothing but bow before me. Like so." She motioned her hand at Yury, who was on his knees._

" _You bitch…"_

" _None of your magics will be able to harm me. Not even your God Souls."_

" _Death Predation!" Zeref cast, allowing his black aura to encase him and go towards her. While the fish in the water instantly floated to the surface, dead, Isabella was completely unaffected._

" _No…" This had never happened to Zeref before. His magic was completely ineffective._

" _Do you see what I mean? Turn around, or I'll destroy all of you."_

" _Not a chance in hell, you-"_

" _Yury." Zeref said sternly, interrupting him. "It's too risky. I don't want everything I've worked for over the years to be for nothing. As we are now, we can't beat her. We'll have to rethink this invasion."_

" _...Alright." They turned around and left while Isabella sighed, opening a portal and returning to Olympus._

 **Present Day**

'I won't let this all be for nothing. After you, she's next.' Yury thought, preparing himself to fight.

"Can I ask something?" Mavis spoke up.

"What?"

"What is your goal in all of this? What's your role in this war?"

"To kill you."

"But that's it? Nothing after that?"

"No. That's all I care about."

"You're a good liar, but I can see through you. I know about Isabella." He flinched.

"Ankhseram told me everything. She's stronger than both of us put together."

"Then don't you understand what her motives are?"

"No. I don't know anything about her, other than she's the most powerful mage in the world and that she prevented your first invasion."

"You...you're still naive, then. I expected more. You claim that you've changed, but it's clear to me that you're still up to your same old shit. All you want to know is your enemy's name. You don't care about their motivations or whether you really should fight them at all. You're still the same old guildmaster: let's fight someone because they're threatening my family."

"..."

"You have nothing to say?"

"I told you that I'd give you my answer through our fight."

"...Then by all means. Let's begin." He spread his arms out, waiting for an attack to hit him.

 **X**

Gildarts and August clashed once again, while Cana tossed cards towards him. He dodged, like usual.

"All Crush!" Gildarts held his hand out, releasing a blast of crash energy towards him. The general of the 12 flew through it like it was nothing and attacked both of his combatants.

'Neither Fairy Glitter nor my magic will work on him!' Gildarts thought, slowly recovering.

"Such a thing as love between parent and child…" He lifted his staff.

"Stop it!" Gildarts blocked a piercing attack that was meant for Cana that went right through his chest.

"Gildarts!"

"Gurgh….That part's already been eaten by Acnologia. It's fine." he grinned.

"Stop pushing yourself already!" she cried.

"I'll do anything for my own child. It's strange, but even though I've only been thinking of myself until now...once I've got a kid, everything I've worked up for has been spent on the kid."

"Cut the crap! You've walked away from us again anyway!"

"I was thinking that I'd be in your way. If it's okay to be with you, papa will always be with you."

"That's annoying!"

"See? But...I can do anything if it's for my kid!" He rushed back towards the Magic King.

"Even dragging you down to death with me!"

"Gildarts!" He grabbed the staff. "Gildarts, stop it! Please stop, Dad!"

"Are you being serious?"

"That's what it takes to be a father."

 **X**

"Wh...why...why...father…Gah!" Zeref stepped on his chest, crushing his lungs further.

"You are not mine. Vera is my only child."

"But...but...I'm...Father's…"

"You're just a demon from the Book of Zeref. An experimental body used to create Natsu and thee one that turned out best was given the name of Dragneel. That's it."

"But I'm…"

"And you've disrupted the fight between Natsu and I...I was having so much fun...You useless trash!" He kicked him away.

"Stop that!" Natsu yelled.

"Let's continue…" Zeref turned towards his brother, shaking from excitement, his eyes growing more red.

 **X**

" _The child of Mavis...is Zeref the father? When did this...no, it may not seem so, but Mavis is a grown woman. That's not the problem. What to do with this child? An enormous magic that is neither light or dark…" Precht looked down at a young infant, wrapped up in cloth, and in a basket._

" _Was it perhaps a mistake to let it live?"_

' _Precht abandoned me. But I don't hold a grudge against him. I've learned about Zeref and Mavis from my own memories. Because I had the magic power just for that. I had a tough time in my childhood. It was a struggle to just live. But the person that saved me was Father.'_

"None of your magic will work against me." August told Gildarts.

"I've figured out the true form of your magic!"

"What?!"

"The instantaneous copying of magic. At the same time, this can nullify the magician's magic in front of you."

'He figured it out in this short time?!'

"But even though you can protect yourself from Fairy Glitter or my magic, why did you only dodge from Cana's cards? It seems like you can't copy the Holder Type Magic." 

"!"

"Of course, without the key, you won't be able to handle Lucy's Star Spirits. You can't copy without the 'material.'"

"So that's it!" Cana grinned, preparing more cards. "Don't show off like you were going to drag somebody to death!" She yelled, tossing cards at August that exploded on impact, and one that hit Gildarts in the head purposely.

"I won't die! For the sake of my daughter's smile!"

'Father did not know about me. But it was better that way.'

"You can't copy the fist of this prosthetic arm!" Gildarts yelled, readying a punch with his artificial hand.

'I became Father's assistant. To create a country together.'

"CRUSHING EVIL, SPREADING THE TRUTH: ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!" Gildarts smashed his fist into August, creating a huge explosion.

'Father gave me a name.'

" _I had some special time to spend with a certain girl. That was during 'August.' You somewhat remind me of that girl. August."_

' _My name...why was the King's child unloved...that was because...he didn't recognize my existence.'_

 **X**

"..." Yury looked off in the distance, sensing that August was in trouble.

"Something on your mind?" Mavis asked.

"...No. It's nothing." He mumbled. "You'll have to find out for yourself later."

"Death God's Wave!" She formed a ball of dark purple energy in her hands before launching it towards him, in the form of a beam.

"Sweep away the darkness, Rain of Light." He raised his hand up and fired beams of light off of his fingertips that countered her own beam. The attacks cancelled out before Mavis flew towards him and threw a punch.

Yury caught it with no effort, making her grit her teeth.

"I can feel that you're stronger than before, but you're still no match for me. Death Predation." Mavis' eyes widened in shock before she jumped back, narrowly avoiding the black field of energy.

"I mentioned it before, did I not? I can use the Black Arts as well. But unlike Zeref, I have control over it."

'As long as I make him think that it will hurt me, I can catch him off guard when I actually attack.'

"Death Orb." He created a black sphere in his hand and launched it towards her. Mavis held both of her hands out and blasted a gust of magic power, trying to hold it back.

"Death Predation!" Yury teleported behind her and activated his death magic again.

'Perfect.' She smirked. She deactivated her wind spell and caught the orb, swinging around and launching it towards him. He caught it and crushed it in his palm. She once again rushed up to him, through his Death Predation and punching him. He grabbed her by the throat, making her gasp.

"You think I didn't know? You can't fool me. Purgatory Dragon's Blazing Hell." He charged up dark red flames in his fist and made it explode point blank on Mavis. She coughed and fell to her knees as he let her go, simply eating all of the surrounding fire.

"I know that you're immune to Ankhseram magic. I've known that you were the cause of Rita's death for 92 years now. And you should know that I have far more up my sleeve. Cavern Dragon's Earth Destruction." He slammed his hands on the ground, and Mavis could do nothing as she felt it shatter beneath her, losing her footing.

"Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge." He extended one hand towards her and released a stream of water, forcing her down, attempting to drown her.

"Ugh...Blergh...Death...Wave…" She fired a beam of black energy through the water, ripping it up. It quickly hit Yury, sending him flying back.

Mavis coughed up water before floating upwards. "Water is the basis for all life. It'll be destroyed by my magic…" He walked forward, looking down on her.

"Gale Dragon's Song of the Wind and Moon!" His eyes changed color to black while his irises turned red. He opened his mouth and fired a huge burst of wind towards her, destroying all of the surrounding earth.

"Death Predation!" She created a field of black magic around her.

"You think you can destroy wind too?"

"The air is made of oxygen and nitrogen. Of course!" But she was proven wrong, as the force from the spell hit her like a hurricane, and she was sent flying back, hitting a boulder.

"If I can't drown you, maybe I can suffocate you. Sand Dragon's Barreling Sand Tornado!" He opened his mouth again and blasted sand out of it, towards her. Mavis switched her magic to Water, and unleashed a cyclone that countered Yury's, and put it all the way back into his mouth. But he just drank it, as he had Sea Dragon Lacrima within him. He wiped his mouth and Mavis sat up. The two glared at each other again before Mavis heard someone running towards her.

 **X**

"Dad...it hurts...it hurts…" Rahkeid sobbed. "Dad…stop this…"

"You're not my child...You and Mavis are not my family…You're a book I created! A demon from it! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Rahkeid looked up at him, tears in his eyes, pleading his father to let him live. But Zeref was not affected in the slightest and vaporized him with a psychotic look in his eye.

"D-Dad…" was the last thing he said before nothing remained.

"You...to your own friend…" Natsu growled.

"He was not a friend...he was not my son...I'm…" Zeref's dark aura spiked before Natsu slammed his fist across his brother's face, sending him flying back.

"Yes, I know who you are. You're a brat who takes a father for granted."

 **X**

"Dad! Are you ok?!" Cana asked.

"Yes...It's just my left arm that stopped moving." The rubble began to shake before August came back out.

"Really?"

"It can't be…" the two muttered.

"I was...born with a mighty magic power...but I've thrown it away, neglected it, and eventually reached the barrier that every living being faces. But my life was saved by his majesty. That's why, even if this body decays, the most powerful mage of the Spriggan 12, August...will destroy this country with his power." He boomed, his body glowing with a bright white energy before he began to rise up into the air.

"Wh-" Gildarts began before coughing up blood, swallowed by the light.

"Dad…" Cana muttered, also getting engulfed by it.

"Scatter...and turn to ashes...along with my body." He floated up higher, being surrounded by powerful energy before everything around him began to evaporate.

"What is this…?"

"I can't breathe…" Max and Warren held their throats, decently closeby.

"Kuh!" Mavis fell onto her knees, while Yury watched.

'That fool. Don't take my kill.' He gritted his teeth, watching August. He turned his body into light, becoming ethereal and not affected by the strongest Spriggan's last ditch effort.

'A magic capable of evaporating the blood of living beings and melting the earth...is this the ancient magic, Ars-Magia?!' Mavis thought. 'Guys, can you hear me?! It's an emergency! Make all your powers go into defensive mode...this way Magnolia will...disappear…..?! I've been blocked!'

"Urgh!" Mavis spit up blood, becoming more affected by the magic.

'Who...has this magical power…?' She looked up into the sky to see him. 'August was this kind of mage?!'

"Disappear."

"Stay with me, Cana! No matter what happens, I will protect you!" Gildarts shielded her.

" _His Majesty's son...is a child who will be born with a mighty power of light. The only one...capable of beating him…is maybe his mother.'_ August flashed back to when he told Jellal about himself. He glanced over into one of the streets before seeing Mavis. He opened his mouth slightly, realizing what he was doing. He called off the spell, and the rest of his body began to disintegrate.

Mavis felt herself being able to breathe again. She stood up, curious about what happened.

His magical power wasn't enough?'

August continued to watch her, his body dispersing in the wind.

'At least once would be enough...at least once…'

"His body...did he exhaust all of his power?" Cana mused.

"No...he was looking at someone while calling out…" Gildarts muttered.

'To be held in your arms...Mom.' A young August's spirit stood behind her, smiling. But when she turned around, no one was there.

"First!"

"Are you alone?!" Gray, Lucy and Happy ran up to her.

"Guys! It's so good to be reunited with you!"

"What was that light?"

"It's ok, it's no longer a threat. Everybody is fighting in the south part of the city. The enemy still has some of its forces."

"But we came here because you summoned us…"

"About that...when I escaped Zeref's...I managed to get something…" She held out E.N.D.'s book, badly burned and with the hole still through the middle.

'When did she get that?!' Yury became angry.

"It's written E.N.D…"

"Natsu's…" Happy said.

"So you already knew. Natsu will surely beat Zeref. And it will erase him. And when that happens, to save Natsu...we'll need the strength of your friends." She handed the book to Lucy.

"So please, don't let anyone near the guild until they finish."

 **X**

"I struggled a lot...I tried so hard to obtain happiness...but this body kills everyone that I love...without mercy. I could not have family...I could not have happiness...I will never be forgiven!"

"This has nothing to do with family. It has nothing to do with forgiveness! You make your own happiness! THIS IS FAMILY! And don't say that you don't have one...when somebody who you still have bonds with is right in front of you...Brother!" He held Zeref by his coat.

"This was...slightly surprising." Zeref smacked Natsu's hand away.

"This is also passion." Natsu's flames surrounded him.

"You're right, Natsu. No...E.N.D." Zeref invoked his darkness even more, making his hair stand up.

'I found it! A way to defeat Zeref…'

"This is our last chance." Mavis said, the others leaving her as she looked over at Yury again, ready to continue their fight. But he wasn't moving.

" _Lord Yury. I have one final request before my spirit leaves this world completely."_

 _Yury remained silent._

" _I've made the last of my power visit you in your subconscious because...I know that you're the one who wants to kill my mother."_

" _..."_

" _I'd like to ask...if you would let her live."_

" _...Why?"_

" _She's...she's my mother. I thought I could do it, but I can't kill her. She's too pure. Too innocent. Please. You've known me longer than anyone else. Will you grant me this one wish?"_

 _Yury remained silent and walked up to him before smiling. August seemed somewhat relieved, before everything ended for him. Yury thrusted his arm through August's chest, making him spit up blood._

" _Lord...Yury…" he choked out._

" _Yes. I've known you longer than anyone else, it's true. Which means that you of all people know that I do not forgive traitors. But you are something even worse." He shoved his hand further in, August feeling his consciousness fading._

" _ **I have no sympathy for cowards.**_ _Don't you worry, August. You'll be reunited with your mother shortly." His arm lit up with light energy._

" _We have no further use for you. It turns out that the Spriggan 12 were disappointing. But never you worry. We can finish this invasion ourselves. Light God's Pulverization." August's spirit was obliterated from Yury's spell._

"Mom…" Mavis' eyes widened, hearing the last words of August as particles of light ascended up to heaven.

"Aug...ust…?" she asked, as she watched his existence disappear. "What did you do?" she asked angrily, turning to Yury.

"What did I do? You didn't even know that he was your son."

"And you killed him!"

"He killed himself. He purposely called off that spell before. It looks like he couldn't bring himself to kill you. And you didn't even acknowledge him. You couldn't even figure out who he was until I told you. You're a terrible parent." he mocked. Mavis struck him in the face, her expression one of fury.

"You're one to talk! YOU ARE THE VERY DEFINITION OF A HYPOCRITE!" she screamed.

"A hypocrite? How so?"

"You're calling me terrible parent? Look at what you did! Makarov is dead because of you! Your own son!" she cried.

"He chose to sacrifice himself. That wasn't my problem, and I didn't cause it."

"Yeah, right! You're the one who planned this whole invasion! If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be dead!"

"I only sped up the inevitable. Makarov was an old man. He had 5 more years alive, at the most."

"And you feel nothing after knowing that he's dead."

"No. Not at all. I've desensitized myself to sadness. If Makarov's death had affected me, I wouldn't be able to fight as efficiently."

"Sadness is something that makes you stronger. Don't you think that everything our guild has been through so far has only helped them grow?"

"'Our' Guild?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I left Fairy Tail long ago. And you and I are the only ones left. I killed Precht myself, and Warrod has no energy left to fight in this war."

"You...killed him? I thought that was Zeref's doing?"

"No. Not at all. Allow me to show you." He held his hand out before a particle of light rose up and dispersed, allowing Mavis to see the day that Grimoire Heart was defeated.

" _Zeref…He's standing right before me...is this a dream? Or reality? Bring the keys!"_

" _There's no need. I am awake. Maybe I'm not one to talk, but how many lives did you take in order to get these 'keys'? Precht…"_

" _!"_

" _Those 'keys' were nothing more than illusions."_

" _W-What?!"_

" _Just one of the stories made by a sect of the believers in the Black Wizard Zeref…'The Keys To Resurrect Zeref.' Were you fooled by that dusty old fairy tale? I was never asleep in the first place. The man you see before you is Zeref." He said menacingly._

" _You were never asleep?! I used my eye, and saw you! I saw you, not even able to defeat one of my servants! You weren't anywhere near what you once were!"_

" _Then I can cut to the chase. That was what I was capable of...back then." His darkness began to spread around him. "You see, 400 years ago I saw countless wars of man...countless deaths...But, after a certain day, I learned the value of life. Ever since then, the more I feel the value of life, the more my accursed body steals people's souls. In order to not steal people's souls, I must forget the weight of a human life. I sidelined myself."_

" _You're saying you were fighting while valuing life?"_

" _Yes...It was the same back when I taught you...and because of that, I can't use my magic anywhere close to how I'd wish to...but that all changes if I forget about the value of life. You were the people who pulled the trigger. Acnologia will herald the end of an era. Your evil deeds have summoned it."_

" _Acnologia?! What the hell are you talking about?!"_

" _You all shall be punished. Your first sin is allowing your actions to summon Acnologia. And your second sin...is making me forget the value of human life. Repent." He formed his hands into the Ankhseram seal._

" _Zeref." A deep voice said. "Don't bother with them. Allow me."_

" _..." Zeref lowered his hands and repressed his magic. He turned around to see Yury walking towards him slowly._

" _What are you doing here?"_

" _I came by to see an old friend. And wipe him off the face of the earth." He walked up to Precht._

" _You've gotten so old, Precht. How were you able to fight them in that condition? Although I shouldn't really be one to talk. We're the same age, after all."_

" _No, it can't be…"_

" _It is. How was it I died again? Illness? Oh, that's right. Do you remember the formation of the Balam Alliance? I was there, accompanying Layla, if you remember."_

" _And you chose not to join. You said your goals didn't align with ours."_

" _They don't. And from what Zeref just said, your goal was a fruitless one. You went through all of that effort for nothing."_

" _And your goals are worth it?" he asked angrily._

" _Of course. You see, the difference between our organizations is that we have members that are strong enough to accomplish their tasks. And competent enough, too."_

" _Why, you-!" Kain and Rustyrose stood up and tried to attack Yury. The god mage remained still and their attacks were blocked by a golden barrier. He spiked up his magic power before the two fell onto the ground, unconscious. Hades fell over as well._

" _How...is this possible? Your magic power…"_

" _Is too much to handle, is that it? I'm not sure how familiar you are with the current Wizard Saints, but the 1st one, the strongest. That's me: God Serena is my persona."_

" _W-What…?"_

" _I'm taking too long here. There's another reason why we didn't join the alliance. Alvarez wants to unite the rest of the world under it. So even if you and the other two dark guilds were able to destroy Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and the rest of the main guilds, we'd come after you eventually. And you'd all lose."_

" _This...is what you left the guild for?"_

" _And what did you leave for? Reviving Mavis didn't work out, so you tried to revive Zeref instead. And look where that got you: right here, bowing before me. You're pathetic." A black aura began to surround Yury as well as he formed the seal for Ankhseram Magic._

" _Y-Yury, wait! Think of everything we've been through! I could help you with your goals-!"_

" _I don't need help from anyone. Death Pillar." Hades was stabbed through the heart by a giant black pyramid shaped pillar of death magic. The ship was pierced through as well._

 _Yury closed his eyes and walked off, walking into a portal of Zeref's, both of them leaving._

"...So that's it, huh?"

"You're not mad at this one? He was our friend, after all."

"He strayed down the wrong path, just like you did."

"Then why didn't you try to save him? You were on Tenroujima. And so was he. Why go so far for me but not for him?"

"Because my guild was there to stop him."

"You put too much faith in them." He smiled, tilting his head up slightly. "Do you rely on them for every problem? You should fight your own battles."

"It wasn't my battle to fight. It was Makarov's."

"And he lost. After that, it should have become your responsibility to defeat him, Mavis. You were easily strong enough to do so."

"Why all of these hypotheticals? I thought you were here to kill me."

"I am. But I'm curious as to why this is the first time you choose to do something yourself. After you came back as a ghost, you ran away to Tenrou Island for years. Why? You didn't return to your guild until a year ago."

"I wasn't strong enough...I kept running away from everything. I think that you were my wake up call. You're someone that only I can handle."

"You're wrong. There's only one person who can handle me. And it's not you. Light God's Apollo." He became surrounded in black light, and his eyes went back to their normal color.

"Death God's Thanatos." Her own magic power surged around her, creating a dark purple and black aura.

The two rushed at each other, creating a massive explosion of darkness and light when they clashed.

Mavis fired blasts at him continuously, while he just deflected them, and did the same to her.

"Yury, we're opposites. You're light, and I'm darkness. One of us can never truly destroy the other." Mavis said, as she threw a punch at him and missed.

"I beg to differ. This fight isn't one to be decided by philosophy, it's one to be decided to strength. And the fact is that even with your newly awakened powers, I'm still stronger."

"You want to bet?" she growled, uppercutting him.

"Yes, I do." he said right back, putting his finger to her chest and firing a beam of light through it. She spit up blood again before healing herself and summoning up more magic power.

"Death God's Spear.." Mavis crafted a spear covered in her purple and black magic power, and thrust it towards him.

"Light God's Blade." He formed his sword and began to counter her attacks with his own weapon. However, he was unsuccessful. Mavis' spear seemed to be stronger than his own.

"Light God's Baldr." His sword began to glow and took on his black light, becoming stronger as he stopped her attacks. He kicked her back and rushed towards her again, slashing continuously.

"Hrgh...Death God's Izanami!" Her spear became stronger as well, able to block his strikes once again.

"I see where this is going! We're just going to keep one-upping each other until we have the advantage!" he laughed. "Fine then! Light God's Belisama!" His gripped his sword with two hands as it grew to become a greatsword. It went back to its original golden color though.

"Take this!" He yelled, swinging it downwards, cutting up the ground and splitting her spear in half.

"Gah!" she jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade. Sweat dripped off of her forehead as she breathed heavily, her eyes wide.

'If I had gotten hit by that, I would have been bisected…! He's really not playing around.'

"Death God's Spear. Death God's Izanami." She recreated her stronger spear before preparing to add another level to it. "Death God's Hades!" she called out, turning her spear into something resembling more of an axe halberd. The two swung their weapons at each other once again, and were once again equally matched.

"I have the weight advantage! My sword delivers stronger strikes because it's heavier!"

"My halberd is faster because it's not as heavy!"

"And you're a child. Literally. You don't age, can you fully control such a long weapon to its full capacity when you're only 13 biologically?"

"You bet I can!" She swung harder and knocked him back before slashing his arm. He winced.

"Light God's Horus!" His greatsword became enveloped by the black light and once again he could overpower Mavis. He sliced downwards, cutting her from her shoulder down to her leg.

"GYAAAAAAAAH!" she shrieked, falling onto the ground, covered in blood.

"Damn it, not deep enough!" Yury cursed, walking up to her and holding his blade above her head. But he was stopped when he saw the rage in her eyes.

'I've never seen her so angry before.'

"DEATH GOD'S KERES!" she screamed, her body becoming engulfed in darkness. Yury tried to back away, but couldn't.

'What?! She's holding me here!'

A storm of black magic and purple lightning became a tornado that trapped the two of them in it.

"Death God's Healing." She healed her wound again, and threw his foot off of her. She stood up, panting.

"Be torn apart in the storm." she said menacingly, her hair covering her eyes. She turned around and walked out of the tornado while it grew bigger and exploded, Yury still trapped in it. Mavis went back over to her halberd and picked it up.

"Death God's Arawn." Her halberd changed again, turning back into a fancy looking pike. She held it above her head as Yury came crashing down with his blade once again. He jumped away and swung his sword over his shoulder.

"You don't even realize it yourself, do you?" Yury asked seriously. Mavis remained silent.

"You're already under the influence of Ankhseram, to some degree. Have you even noticed that your personality has done a full 180?"

Mavis smirked. "I don't care about that. But my spell finally worked. You took some damage." Yury's robes were worn out with burn marks all over them now.

"You've become the hypocrite now, Mavis. You keep criticizing me for being heartless, but now you want to tear me apart as much as I do to you. Maybe even more. Tell me, how much do you want to kill me?"

"...Take Over: God Soul." she said, grinning maniacally. Yury's eyes widened as her whole body became covered in her black and purple aura. A huge explosion of magic power expanded outward as Yury stepped back to avoid letting it touch him. When it died down and disappeared, Mavis stood hovering slightly above the ground, her clothes gone and her body darkened and covered in special symbols resembling the ancient egyptian hieroglyph for death. Her hair was now black in color, and her eyes were glowing purple while lightning sparked around her.

"Light God's Hyperion." he said, smirking as his greatsword now became enveloped in even more black light, making it shatter the ground when it touched it.

Mavis picked up her spear and added another level to it.

"Death God's Osiris!" Her spear grew even more, and now resembled a ceremonial halberd. She twirled it around before flying towards him and thrusting. Yury blocked it at first, but then she added more force and knocked him back before slashing him across his torso. He gritted his teeth and went back towards her, swinging his weapon again while she passed by him, making her back get cut.

"Remember, my Apollo spell is a combination of my god magic as well as my god slayer magic. You're not safe from me in this state!" He spun around and slashed her across the front, knocking her down. But the damage didn't seem to faze her.

'She's clearly taking damage, she's just ignoring it...Ankhseram has more control over her than I thought.'

"Death God's Odin!" she cast a final layer onto her spear, making it spiked on both sides. She examined it for a moment before smiling and running towards him again.

"Heh. So you had one more layer than me?" he chuckled, but soon stopped. He moved his sword back to its previous position to block her strike, but as soon as the weapons made contact, Mavis' spear broke the blade in half and impaled him.

"Guh…" he remained motionless for a time before his eyes widened and he coughed up blood.

"Got you." she laughed.

"Mavis…It's strange." He grabbed her spear and pulled it out of his body forcefully, startling her.

"Or maybe I should call you Ankhseram." She gritted her teeth angrily. "Light God's Healing." His wound closed and he stood back up again. "I can't shake this feeling...despite hating Mavis this past century...wanting to kill her with my own hands...for some reason, I can't stand the sight of her being manipulated by someone like you. I don't want to fight you like this...I want to defeat you as yourself!"

"...Well, too bad. You're not going to get me out of her at this point. From here on out, you're fighting a god. Get used to it." she smirked.

"No. There's a way to expel you from her body. I won't be fighting you for very long."

"You arrogant bastard." Swearing didn't really suit Mavis. Despite being possessed, Ankhseram still spoke through her voice.

"Am I though? It's not arrogance, it's confidence. Now watch closely." His magic power spiked up to maximum.

'This is...100% of his magic power…? Impossible...he's...stronger than some of the other gods…!'

" **Take Over: God Soul.** " His body glowed with his golden light before a massive eruption of his magic power covered the entire city. **[A/N: When you listen to Martyr, you'll want to time it right, so that when Yury says Take Over God Soul you're about 40 seconds into the song. If there's one song you're going to listen to in this entire story, it should be this one.]**

Yury's body became completely black while golden markings were all over his body,converging on his chest where Aether's symbol was; a simple circle with a dot in the center. His face was shaded black save for his eyes and mouth, which were glowing golden. But there was something different about his god soul compared to all the others. His dharma wheel had transformed into one made out of energy, that attached to his back. He actually looked like a divine figure as he slowly floated down to the ground.

"Round 2. Ankhseram." His voice echoed.

 **X**

Acnologia laughed as he stomped on Eileen's corpse continuously.

"Stop. Stop desecrating the corpse." Erza told him. He looked at her over his shoulder.

"You have the same smell as this woman." He took notice of Wendy. "A Dragon Slayer? This kid has the power to hunt dragons?"

"Who are you?!"

"This magic power...Erza, this person is…"

"Acnologia." He grinned maniacally, and gathered magic power into his hand, before launching a blast of wind towards them. But Jellal appeared and blocked it with his shield.

"Jellal?!"

He wasted no time in preparing an attack, dragging his finger through the air and making seven rays of light.

"Heavenly Body Magic: Pleiades!" The beams flew towards him, but the dark dragon dodged all of them by flipping over on his hands. He looked to his left where Jellal was with seven light swords.

"Kyuraishin!" He sent the swords flying at him, creating a large explosion of light. The dragon was knocked back.

"Be judged by the seven stars! Grand Chariot!" His signature spell cast down out of the sky and fell onto him, destroying the ground. But he just laughed, absorbing the magic, and surprising the others.

"He devoured…"

"The magic?!"

"Which attribute is that…?"

"Attribute? I don't have one. I'm the final dragon. The death dragon that devours all magic!" He transformed into his dragon state. "The Apocalypse Dragon, Acnologia!"

"All magic...is he saying that all magic is useless against him?!" Jellal yelled.

"His magic power is different from when we faced him on Tenrou Island…"

"W-We can't...win…"

"I cannot...give up...because, I'm a Dragon Slayer!" Wendy activated her Dragon Force before flying towards him.

"Stop! Wendy!"

"Don't do it!"

Acnologia gathered more power into his claw.

"Wendy!"

Just as the attack was about to connect, the giant dragon was slammed out of the way by an even bigger warship.

"A pegasus?!"

"Erza! Wendy!" A voice called out from aboard the ship.

"Ichiya?!"

"Hurry, come here! With this, we can keep Acnologia away! This ship will draw his attention."

"But…"

"We don't have time! Hurry! Come on, we need to buy some time, even if it's just a little…" The two climbed up onto the bridge while it started to take off again.

"Is this shaking?"

"Are you underestimating Christina, the bombarding magic ship?! Besides...If we can take Acnologia to a certain place...we can find a way to beat him."

"What?!"

"Really?!"

"Right?" he turned to a woman with long blonde hair and who wore celestial mage robes with a cape attached to her back.

"Yes." she smiled.

 **X**

"Are you ready?"

"...It doesn't matter how strong you are. One of us can never truly defeat the other. I am darkness, and you are light."

"I told you before, that this battle is decided by strength, not by philosophy. And anyone can see that I will win this battle. This is Mavis' first time using her God Soul, while I've trained my own for decades. Do you think a novice can defeat a master?"

"Tch…" Yury pointed his finger at her before firing a piercing beam of light right through her heart.

"Grahhh…" She fell onto her knees and coughed up more blood.

"You're not dead?"

"No...my control is keeping her alive. If I wasn't here, she probably would be bleeding out right now. Death God's Odin!" She created her strongest spear and rushed towards him, but this time, Yury grabbed it with one hand and crushed it with his grip, making it fall to the ground and disperse into particles.

"You like to think about this fight as Darkness vs. Light, right? That one can never truly destroy the other. Can't you see that my light is stronger than your darkness? What makes you think that you can win? You are a bit player in this war, a minor character. My job is to kill Mavis, and you are preventing me from doing that. You're wasting my time here, Ankhseram. Light God's Baldr." He stabbed her body again with his one-handed black light blade. Yury pushed it in further before kicking her off of the blade forcefully, making her fall back onto the ground about 10 feet away.

"This is turning into a never ending battle. I beat you, and you heal yourself. Is there any point anymore?"

"I hate you! I hate that everything is a bore to you! You're so emotionless and I'm sick of it! Doesn't anything make you angry?!"

"...Yes. It's just not you." He pointed his finger towards her again, and continuously fired beams of light into her, stopping Ankhseram's meltdown. He teleported in front of her and placed his hand on her body.

"Light God's Expulsion." Mavis began to glow golden before Ankhseram's spirit became visible as it was forcefully detached from her.

"The next time you come back, I'll kill you. Light God's Bellow." He blasted a giant beam of black light towards him, wiping out his spirit and sending him back to his domain. Mavis' God Soul left her body, and her eyes slowly rolled up, looking into the sky before she passed out both from exhaustion and from her wounds. Yury paused to look at her before closing his eyes and undoing his own transformation. He remained standing over her for a few minutes, debating whether or not he should heal her or not.

"..." *Sigh* "I'll have to wait until after this whole thing is over. We could use your power in Olympus. Light God's Healing." He gave a burst of power into her body, closing up her wounds and returning her breathing to normal.

"...Sleeping, huh?" he chuckled. "...I wonder if I should go after Acnologia…"

"...No...stay here….someone else will take care of him…" she mumbled, grabbing his arm. He looked at her and sat down.

"Now what?"

"You were my primary target. With this battle finished for the time being, my role in this war is pretty much finished. Zeref's battle is still going, and Silver has yet to start his, if he will at all. Of course, Acnologia is back, and if I need to, I'll go take care of him. I severely limited my power in my God Soul so that no one in the area would pass out from the pressure of my magic power."

"Ha...ha ha...really…?" She closed her eyes. "I guess that there's really no chance for me to beat you then, huh?"

"...Mavis. I should tell you about Isabella and why we're trying to stop her."

"Huh?"

"You said you know who she is, but you don't know why we're fighting her."

"Is now really the time?"

"Yes. We won't get another chance like this with how things are playing out. And besides, you need to know. Because once things finish up down here, we're going to Olympus."

 **End.**

 **Okay, so I need to give you guys an outline for the future chapters of this story. You'll notice that the scene before the ending of Yury and Mavis' fight was the latest chapter, 528. It's the shortest one in a long time, but brings a few things to question. If you really don't want to be spoiled about the future of this fanfic, then don't read the rest of this. But for those of you who are curious, read on:**

 **Originally, I was going to have Silver fight Gray and Juvia before this. But at this point in the manga, she's still heavily injured, and I've developed Silver's personality to be more inclined to save his strength for fighting Isabella rather than his targets. So I don't think they'll be fighting. I might drop him in against Acnologia, but he wouldn't win.**

 **Regardless of how Zeref and Natsu's fight turns out, I was going to have Zeref survive. And if you read the actual chapter and saw the last page, you'd know that the woman standing there is either Layla or Anna.**

 **So here's the issue: if it's Layla, I'm kind of in trouble. Don't get me wrong, a canon appearance for her would be hype as shit, but I've already written her staying in Olympus at this point so as not to disobey orders. If it's Anna, everything's fine, and I can move on.**

 **Only everything isn't fine, because whoever she actually is, she has a plan to defeat the Apocalypse Dragon. And if it turns out working, then he's removed from the rest of the story, because I wouldn't want to bring him back just to kill him again.**

 **So, here's everything put together:**

 **After the fights are finished, I was going to have Isabella come back down to earth again with Layla. Isabella would go and force Acnologia under her control, making him join her, and Layla would steal E.N.D.'s book and fully awaken him. Isabella would then put him under her control as well, and go back to Olympus, stating that she's run out of patience, and wants to destroy the world immediately. From there, knowing about her motivations, Mavis would convince everyone to join her, Zeref, Silver, and Yury and go to Olympus not just to defeat Acnologia and get Natsu and Layla back, but also to eliminate Isabella for good. Everyone would then arrive and end up fighting those three, and then meeting the five gods and then the final battle against Isabella. And after that, the story would end.**

 **Let it be known that NO, Mavis and Zeref will not survive through to the end. Either they die in Olympus at some point, or Natsu and Yury end up keeping their words and killing them once they return.**

 **In terms of the music used, Acnologia's fight will be some of the usual Naruto and Fairy Tail fighting soundtracks that I've already used, while Natsu's will be Veiled in Black, one of the fight themes from Final Fantasy XV. Layla's final fight theme will be One Winged Angel, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children's version. As for the gods and Isabella, soundtracks from Dark Souls and Bloodborne. I already have them picked out.**

 **But the question is whether or not I should stick with the manga like I've been doing, or go off onto a separate timeline where Isabella interferes and everyone goes after her. Which is inevitable, but if I stick with the manga, then Acnologia might be killed back on earth, and if the woman does turn out to be Layla, we can assume that she'd be helping out, and there goes one of my plot points down the drain.**

 **So what do you guys think? As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!**


	20. Failsafe

**I believe I've reached the chapter where I leave the manga and continue on with my own plot. At this point, I'm just dragging it out week by week for the new chapters, and the Natsu and Zeref fight isn't over yet, as well as Acnologia continuously chasing after Anna and the others. I've reached a good point to drop off of Mashima's work and continue with my own. So without further ado! Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Acnologia Chases Christina: AZPV (Aldnoah Zero OST)**

 **Layla Talks to Erebus and Aether: Dream Refuge (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Natsu Talks About Neo Eclipse: Soundscape to Ardor (Bleach OST)**

 **Zeref's God Soul: Zetsu's Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST) [The new one, from the third OST]**

 **Isabella Interferes: Uncontrollable Evil (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **END Awakens: Madara Uchiha's Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **END vs. Everyone: Veiled in Black (Final Fantasy XV OST)**

 **Isabella's Speech: The Niflheim Empire (Final Fantasy XV OST)**

 **Night Goddess' Black Hole: Villain Invasion (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **Aftermath: Omake-Pfadlib (Attack on Titan OST)**

 **Victoria Explains the Old World: Dearly Beloved (Kingdom Hearts II OST) [All this time, you thought this was Isabella's theme, didn't you? Nope ;)]**

 **Victoria Explains Earthland's Creation: Fairy Law (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Explaining Holy Magic: Analysis (My Hero Academia OST)**

"Christina, take off!" The airship flew overhead while the evil dragon looked on in anger. The members of Blue Pegasus began to take their positions in flying it.

"So...who are you anyway?" Erza asked, looking at the woman.

"Guys! It's about to get a little rough!" Jenny yelled, steering the wheel hard to the left as Acnologia began to fly after them.

"Ah!" Erza knocked into Jellal and fell over on top of him. "I-I'm sorry!" she yelled, quickly getting off.

"Ah...it was nothing…" he muttered.

Wendy was passed out, dizzy.

"Wendy...this ship was built with the Dragon Slayer's embark in mind. Please, calm down and take a deep breath." the woman knelt down and picked her up.

She shook her head before looking at who was holding her.

"See? No problem, right?"

"Ah…"

"Yes! Acnologia followed us!"

"Let's shake him up a bit!" Ren and Eve said.

"Loading the Convergence Magic Cannon: Jupiter! Rapid Spin!" Jenny called out, yanking a chain and pulling a u-turn in the ship.

"Fire!" A powerful magic laser beam was shot at Acnologia, and seemingly hit him on his wing.

"Yay! Bullseye!" But then the dragon just ate the blast. "He ate it?!"

"It can't be...magic is useless against him?"

"Switch out the ammo then!"

"I don't think it will work, but let's fire the 120mm ammo! Assault Pegasus!" They began to fire regular rounds at him, but he simply flew between the firing streams, dodging all of them.

"Do you really think you'll escape from me?" he growled.

"He increased his speed!"

"Let's show him Pegasus speed!"

"Activate the ignition to the Magic Propeller!" They shot through the sky faster than ever before.

"Uaah!"

"I'm sorry!" Jellal fell on Erza again.

"Y-You are…"

"Do you remember me?" she smiled.

"Anna-Sensei!" **[A/N: Thank God for me :)]**

"Sensei?!" Erza asked.

"I'm the ancestor of a girl you all know very well...Lucy...or so I would say."

"I don't get it!"

"I don't care who you are! But was that talk about beating Acnologia true?" Jellal asked.

"Don't rush things. I need to explain this in order." She turned back to the young dragon slayer.

"You really grew, Wendy!"

"I'm...still...a little confused."

"It's okay." She hugged her. "It's a real shame what happened to Grandeeney and the other dragons. But...what they did wasn't in vain. About me...400 years ago...I was the teacher who taught Wendy, Natsu and the others to read. I came along with the Dragons to this age through Eclipse. Year X777...All to beat Acnologia."

 **X**

Lucy and Gray sat on a bench in a nearby park, catching their breath. She began to cry.

"Lucy?! H-Hey, what happened?"

"It's just...Natsu's life as a book...is so…" she sobbed. The other two looked down. "Even if he's a normal boy...just why…why did things have to be this way?"

' _...Huh? Is that Anna? What's she doing here?' Victoria asked herself inside of Lucy's mind._

 **X**

Natsu punched Zeref back, making him crash through a table. He recovered by sliding across the floor.

"Very good! Keep coming, END! I...will...DESTROY YOU! AND YOU WILL DESTROY ME!" Zeref's personality had gone from crazy to absolutely psychotic.

"SAY THINGS RIGHT, BROTHER!"

"ENDDDDDD!"

"MY NAME IS NATSU!"

 **X**

"400 years ago...there was no way to defy Acnologia. That's why the dragons entrusted their hopes to the future. A future where they'd enter the bodies of the Dragon Slayers...to come to this age."

"Yes, that's what I heard from Grandeeney."

"Indeed, this age is overflowing with magic power…" Erza added.

"And taking the results into account, this plan was a success. The one who built the gates was Zeref. And I opened them."

"Zeref?!"

"He always researched time, but...at that point, it wasn't his wish to go to the past...I think he just...still trusted the future. The one who connected us to this era was Layla Heartfilia. She opened the entrance and I opened the exit."

"Lucy's mother?!"

" Yes. Originally, I explained the circumstances to the ones at the exit...saying that I need to cross the gates with them to fulfill my role as their caretaker."

"Caretaker?"

"Yes, you all were just kids. But something unpredictable happened, and after the gates were opened, you were all separated. Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue. It took me five years to pinpoint your whereabouts. But...seeing how well you were living in this age...I...thought it still wasn't the right time to make contact with you. Since you were all just pure little children...While I was in search of you, I found something unthinkable. I'm not sure if it caused the incident at the gates or something else did, but I discovered the existence of 'this thing.' I couldn't stand by and do nothing, so I started investigating it." The airship shifted again, causing them all to fall against the wall.

"This thing is a power remarkably huge and dangerous...well...it's not exactly a 'power,' but something similar to a universal law. The Timelapse. It's our only hope to seal Acnologia...and send him to the Absolute Emptiness."

 **X**

Layla walked briskly through the hallway of Isabella's castle, heading towards where the Gods' quarters were. It was an extremely large room with five different paths and doors at the end of each. She headed towards the third one, which had a black hallway and black doors. She knocked angrily on it.

"What? What do you want?" Erebus asked impatiently from behind the door.

"Open up!"

"Can't do that. You know how these doors work."

"Then you open it!"

"Why should I? Why are you bothering me anyway?"

"Leave Zeref alone! I can feel his warped magic power from here! Stop twisting his mind!" There was a pause before Erebus opened his door and shrunk down to the size of a human. Normally, Gods are the size of giants, but they have the ability to become as short as other people.

"You want me to leave Zeref alone? No can do." He turned around, and started to walk back into his quarters. Layla tried to follow him, but was stopped by an invisible wall.

"Hey! Take the barrier off, you bastard!" He glanced back at her and sighed before lifting it, allowing her to walk through.

"Why won't you leave him alone?"

"Because this is how I'm planning to kill both him and Natsu off. The more he focuses on the fight, the less he focuses on coming here to stop us, so he won't care if he dies in the process."

"You monster...you chose him! Why are you purposely trying to kill him?!"

"Isn't it obvious? Because he's immortal. And as long as he remains alive, I can't choose anyone else."

"It doesn't matter! Your job is not to kill your target! If he dies, then so be it, but you are not supposed to be the one to carry out the task!"

"And who are you to lecture me? You know better than anyone else that he needs to die, that he wants to die, yet are you willing to carry it out yourself?"

"Gh…" She stepped back.

"See what I mean? I know that you're used to being loved by Nyx, but I don't share the same fondness for the Dragneels."

"Why, you…" she growled, releasing some of her magic power. He countered back with his own magic power, a thick black aura, that completely overpowered her and made her fall to her knees.

"The answer is no. Now leave me alone." he said firmly.

"...Very well." She slowly stood up and brushed herself off before walking out of his room and going back to her own. He reactivated the magic barrier and closed the doors with a wave of his hand.

Layla had to hold back tears as she walked back to her room. Zeref was losing it, and at this point probably didn't recognize any of his allies.

"Hey! Layla!" She looked up and saw someone she wasn't expecting across from her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Bring me to Aether. Now!"

"Ask nicely." He growled and shook his head before walking off to the fourth door in the room, the large gold ones. He started knocking angrily.

"Hey! Open up!" Layla walked over to him. After a moment or two, the doors opened and the barrier was dispelled, allowing the two to enter the room.

"You have a visitor." Layla held her hand out towards Ankhseram.

"What are you doing here? Your domain is below here, in Valhalla."

"I know that. But I have a bone to pick with you. Your reincarnation, that Yury Dreyar."

"What about him?"

"I don't think you've done your job very well. You've allowed him to become stronger than he needs to be."

"Oh? And what makes you say that?"

"Because he's stronger than me! I fought against him by possessing Mavis Vermillion's body, and he tossed me aside like I was nothing!"

"...You're misunderstanding the situation here. My job is not to prevent my protégé from being stronger than any god. My job is to prevent him from becoming stronger than me. And to this day, I've still had that goal achieved. If you lost to him, that's your fault. Now leave me be."

"Why, you…!"

"Layla. Would you be so kind as to do away with our guest?"

"Of course." She opened a portal using her god magic and Aether used a gust of wind to send him into it, closing behind him.

"Thank you. I'm sorry that he disturbed you."

"Don't worry about it. I was just on the way back to my room." She bowed her head and walked towards the doors before stopping.

"...Hey, Lord Aether?"

"Yes?"

"Do you...think you could tell Lord Erebus to stop messing with Zeref's mind? He won't listen to me."

"...I'm sorry, but that's not my place. We don't interfere with each other's business. Only your mother has the authority to make him stop."

"...I see. Thank you." She turned around and left before the god closed the doors and resealed it.

"I wonder if she's starting to get suspicious…" Aether smirked as his eyes glowed a hazy purple.

 _ **X777, Crocus**_

 _Five lights shot up into the night sky as a young Princess Hisui, Arcadios, and the rest of the city watched in awe. Down below, in the castle's basement, the Eclipse Gate was opened by Layla, with Toma watching. Anna's shadow walked through the light into the corridor._

" _Hmm...pardon me, but what year is this?"_

" _X777." She panted, clearly washed of her stamina._

" _Yes! I did it! I travelled 400 years into the future!" She turned around. "Wait...haven't you seen five kids around here?!" she asked frantically._

" _When the gate opened, five bright lights came out flying from within it. They were quickly propelled towards the sky." Toma explained. Anna looked up to find five holes burned into the castle._

 _ **X**_

" _Hahh...that was a pain."_

" _I'm sorry to have burdened you with it."_

" _No, no, it's not a burden. I just thought for a long time that I would be able to do this from the comfort of my home, but Zeref explained to me about a week ago that I needed to travel here to do it. They couldn't move the whole gate. So I'm just a little worn out from the trip here, as well as the task itself." Layla explained to her ancestor, standing on the castle's balcony. "So the gate really does connect different times…"_

" _And you opened it. Thanks for that."_

"' _To you, who lives in an era of powerful ethernano...when the sun and moon intersect, use the 12 keys to open the gate.' It was hard for me to believe this...but my family has owned this book since before my grandmother's birth."_

" _Yeah...I am it's author."_

" _Wait a second...I...I don't get what you're talking about…" Toma walked up behind the two._

" _In order to arrive in the future, I needed someone from this era to open the gate. I passed on this book of instructions to my descendants."_

" _Until I opened it just now." Layla sighed._

" _So...you actually came from 400 years ago?!"_

" _That would be correct."_

" _Hmm...if Layla opened the gate now...then that must mean this era is brimming with a lot of magic power?"_

" _I...don't really know. I retired from mage work years ago." she lied. "This isn't really something that has a set value. I had a different reason. The reason why I chose to open it right now...is my daughter, Lucy. I don't want her to carry over this responsibility...I want her to be free. That's why I decided to end the duty of the Heartfilias right this day. I don't want her to end up like me…"_

" _Nonsense! You're a wonderful young woman! Why wouldn't she want to be like you?" Layla's smile faded and she looked away._

" _That's something I'd rather not share…"_

" _I see...thank you for everything Layla. I'm proud of my lineage for having followed my mission. You've done a wonderful job."_

" _It was nothing."_

" _That said...to think that 400 years later human culture would thrive so much...I was correct in assuming that Acnologia would have no interest in attacking men."_

' _However...was this really the right choice? No! I mustn't waver! I have to believe in the dragons' plan!'_

" _Now that you have fulfilled your duty...you and your family are free to live together."_

" _...Yes."_

" _However, I need to get going. I need to find the five children. They are an integral part of the plan. Well then, I'll be off."_

" _Take care."_

" _By the way, King Toma...make sure to destroy the gate!"_

" _Oh...right…"_

"But before I had realized, she passed away just a few days later." Erza remained silent. She would inform her after her explanation.

"But that power you mentioned before…" she changed the subject.

"Right. When I investigated, I found this power. In this era, this power appeared at 'that place.' It's not an element...it isn't light nor darkness...it's the very nothing itself."

"'The nothing?'" Jellal asked.

"Such a type of power shouldn't exist in this era. Or any era for that matter. After investigating it...I found out what it was. The Timelapse! It appears that our crossing of the gate from 400 years ago caused a distortion in the fabric of time itself. It created a hole of sorts, an interval where there is no time nor space. Inside of it, nothing can exist."

"So that would include even Acnologia!"

"Correct. But that said…"

"I find it hard to believe that no one found out about this before…"

"That is because I hid it during these years somewhere."

"But...we opened the gate again during the Grand Magic Games…"

"Yes, back then the hole itself did react to the gates opening."

"Hole?"

"Yes, it's basically a hole in time. Though truth be told, it isn't bigger than this tangerine. Now that the dragons are gone...this hole rests as our final hope!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, our plan is simple!" Ichiya announced. "We'll swiftly dodge the Timelapse and wait for Acnologia. Then we'll bait him into coming after us and then...MEEEEEEN!"

"This sounds too easy. Do you really think it'll work?" Erza asked.

"It has to. We have no other choice."

 **X**

"You alright, Lucy?"

"Yeah...sort of…You won't be destroying this book anymore, right?"

"Of course I won't! I didn't know it was Natsu's back then after all."

"I have an idea!" Happy said. "You both...how about we open the book?"

"Listen, Lucy…"

'I should probably tell them of Zeref's master plan…'

"What is it?"

"...Nevermind. Let's do this!"

"Right!"

 **X**

"Is that all, END? You've betrayed my expectations! I really thought you were capable of destroying me!" Zeref blasted a wave of darkness towards Natsu.

"Gah!" It hit Natsu square in the chest, sending him flying back against the wall.

"But not to worry. It'll all go back to how it used to be. If I get Mavis' power, I can return to the 'myself' of back then. Thanks to Neo Eclipse!" he said excitedly.

"You see...all of my other plans that I mentioned...they will inevitably fail. Isabella can put an end to all of them with the flick of a finger. And so, I came up with a surefire way to win. A gate that leads neither to the past nor the future. It starts everything over. It'll reset time itself. I will return back to when I was mortal."

"Is that your true goal?!"

"No one will suffer from what I have done anymore! You'd be human again! Acnologia would not gain any power! Isabella would not have needed to merge with chaos! Yury, Layla, and Silver would never have left Ishgar! Won't that be quite the happy ending?"

"But what's gonna happen to us? And everyone else?"

"Who knows...perhaps this world might disappear."

"Who cares if we suffered in this time because of you! We'll still live on!"

"Two keys are needed to open Neo Eclipse. The first is Mavis. She's heading here right now...and the second one is...the Timelapse itself!"

 **X**

"Anna...I think you should know something." Erza said, looking down sadly but also frustrated.

"What is it?"

"Layla Heartfilia...isn't dead."

"...What?" she asked, surprised.

"In actuality, she had been allied with Zeref for years before she opened the gate. She faked her death, married him, and became the leader of the Alvarez Empire. They had a daughter together…"

"...I...I see…" she fell back against the wall.

"And that's not all...her mother, Isabella, also did the same, but she's manipulating Alvarez into doing her bidding. I'm not sure what her motive is yet, but it can't be something good…"

"...I could sense it inside of her when I met her...Layla is Nyx's choice, right? One of the five mages with god powers? Just like Zeref."

"Yes." She remained startled for a few moments before regaining her composure.

"Honestly, I'm surprised, but not that surprised."

"Why not?"

"Of the five families chosen by the main primordials, two of them, the Dragneels and the Heartfilias, are said to be plagued by darkness."

"Plagued by darkness? What does that mean?" Wendy asked worriedly.

"Allow me to explain. The god that watches over the Dragneel family, Erebus, is the Lord of Darkness, while the god that watches over the Heartfilia family, Nyx, is the Queen of the Night. Members of the Dragneel family are said to be strong and brave, while Heartfilias are said to be beautiful and loved by those around them."

"What's so bad about that?" Jellal asked.

"That's not all. That's the good side to it. The bad side is that both have bad luck and are said to be alone eventually. Erebus does not care for the Dragneels, and only sees them as nuisances. On the other hand, Nyx cares for us deeply, but because of the nature of her powers, people fear us. Think about it. Zeref's whole family was killed, and when he brought Natsu back to life, he was cursed, destined to kill those he loves most. Meanwhile, Natsu's life is linked to his, and he is a demon, destined to hurt those he becomes friends with. Meanwhile, Layla completed her duty for the sake of her daughter, but died only a few days later. Or so I thought, but now that you've informed me of her true allegiances, she's probably considered a traitor by most that knew her. If she's in love with Zeref, then she must know that he wants to die, and that she'll end up alone again. And as for Lucy, she believed her mother had died at a young age, didn't get along with her father, and now the man that gave her a permanent home is also one of her greatest enemies. I think that about sums it up. I'm not really one to believe in fate or destiny, but all of these events are not just pure coincidences. It's somewhat haunting." Everyone looked grim.

"But there is an exception to this rule."

"Exception?" Wendy asked.

"What do you think is the most distinguishing feature about Heartfilia women? Think about Lucy's, Layla's, and my appearances. Go ahead, take a guess."

"Well...you all have a womanly figure and blonde hair." Erza pointed out.

"Exactly. While pretty much every woman in my line has had an hourglass figure, only one has ever had a different hair color. Layla's grandmother, Victoria, had black hair. I did my research into my descendants when I first came here."

"Victoria? Never heard of her. And Lucy never mentioned her to us, either."

"I'm not even sure if Lucy knows about her. But out of all the Heartfilias, she's the only one with a different hair color. And although it may not seem like it, it's actually a substantial difference. See, she was rather close to Nyx. I myself have never visited Olympus or talked to the gods once. Granted, my life in my own time only lasted roughly 3 decades before I made the jump to this time, but not all members of each family is contacted. Only special ones with unique magical powers are. Victoria was one such being. Quite frequently at that. That's all I know, though. The last three generations of my family have done well to keep their secrets."

 **X**

"After everything you've worked for, you just want to throw it all away and reverse time?! That's the coward's way out!" Natsu yelled.

"It's the only possible way!"

"What were your goals again?! Stop all wars by making Alvarez the dominant power! End your life so that you would stop hurting those around you! Defeat Acnologia! Defeat Isabella! Wasn't that everything?! I think those are far more noble goals than just resetting everything!"

"There's no other way. While the first three are not out of the question, the last one is. Layla has already allied herself with her mother. And it is impossible to defeat Isabella."

"So you're just giving up?!"

"YES! I realized a long time ago, once Layla joined us, that despite all of our power, we are nothing compared to the gods of Olympus. They're immortal, they cannot be killed. And with someone as dangerous as Lucy's grandmother leading them, this world will always be doomed."

"...What do you mean?" Some of Zeref's magic power left him as he calmed down.

"Isabella Heartfilia used to be a kind and polite individual, just like your friend Lucy. But, after merging with Chaos and becoming the ultimate ruler of the universe, she developed both a Superiority and a God Complex. She believes that mortals are below her, and that they should act the way that she wants them to. Because of this, when wars are fought, and show no signs of stopping, she resets the world. But not just reverses time. She destroys everything and then builds a new one."

"But wars are inevitable! Humans are ignorant and arrogant! There's going to be conflict no matter what!" Natsu said.

"Exactly!" Zeref agreed. "She will continue to destroy the world each time she becomes unhappy, and live to do it again. We have no chance unless we bend to her will. And that will never happen, because other than us, no one even knows who she is. It's an unfair twist of fate. This is not the first time this has happened. She's done it before. Before the year X1. A different calendar was used, and different civilizations existed. But she didn't like the way that things were escalating, so she wiped it all out."

"So then we just have to stop her!"

"Weren't you listening to me before?" he cut him off almost immediately. "She's a god. She's all powerful, and cannot be killed. Chaos is what controls this world. You can't destroy it. If you do, nothing can be regulated, no new life can exist. It's Isabella who's controlling it for evil purposes, but if we kill her, we stop the world anyway. But she only gained her powers in the year X756. So if we reverse time, then that will never have happened! Acnologia wouldn't be the destroyer he is! My curse would not exist! You would not be a demon! Our parents would be alive!" Natsu remained silent before looking at his brother with a concerned face.

"And you didn't tell any of your allies? Don't you think they'd want to know?"

"This would make them happy as well. Eileen would never have learned Dragon Slaying Magic and become a dragon. Silver would never have lost his wife or himself to Deliora. Yury's wife Rita would never have been killed by Mavis. And Layla would never have lost Silver or her parents."

"...And she would have never fell in love with you. Vera would not exist. Are you really okay with that?"

"...!" Zeref stopped himself. "...I want to spare them the fate of losing their father and husband. They know about my decision of wanting to die. Neither of them want it to happen. They shouldn't have to live like that."

"...You still don't get it. It's not about what you want, Zeref. It's about them. If you told them of this plan, would they really support it? Layla has never loved anyone as much as you before. I think that she'd want to live in a world where she can be with you, even cursed, rather than one where she never got to meet you in the first place!"

"...I'm sorry. But there's no going back. This is the only way to stop her." He stepped back, and his magic power spiked higher than ever before.

" **Take Over: God Soul."** A large sphere of darkness surrounded him, and leaked out underneath his feet, swallowing any chairs or tables that were caught in it. Zeref's hair spiked up again as his eyes began glowing blood red. He lifted his head slightly to look at his younger brother.

"Are you...ready to die?"

'What is this feeling...fear? Am I...afraid? I've never been afraid of fighting an enemy before! So why now…?'

"You are afraid because you have never sensed the magic power of a god before."

'What? Did he just read my mind?!'

"It's written all over your face. You've never sensed a power this immense before. Everyone acts like this when they first experience it. Now then, in the name of Lord Erebus, be erased." Two curved black daggers manifested in his hands.

 **X**

"Are we really okay with this?" Lucy asked.

"If we do this, Natsu will become stronger, I'm sure!" Happy said.

"But he also might lose control…" Gray mentioned. They sat in silence again, looking at the cover, until Lucy spoke up.

"No. He'll be fine. I know he'll be able to control it." She lifted up her hand and lowered it slowly towards the cover before the book was gone.

"Eh? What the-?! Where did it go?!" she looked around. Gray jumped up and Happy started looking around before pointing to the roof of a nearby building, scared. Standing there was Isabella, holding the book under her arm.

"Sorry kids, but you should leave this book in the care of someone more responsible. Later." She waved with three fingers before disappearing with a gust of wind.

"Gh...That's not good…" Lucy became worried.

"We need to go after her." Gray said before starting to run towards the guild, the other two following closely behind.

 **X**

"There! That's it!" Anna pointed out the front windshield, spotting a single black point in the sky. "Get ready!" she called out. The ship raised itself up and then lowered again once it passed by it.

Acnologia headed straight for it, not noticing it due to its small size. But just as he was about to make contact, the sphere completely disappeared.

"What?! What happened?!" Anna screamed.

"I told you that it was too easy!" Erza said.

"No...he didn't do anything to it! It just disappeared on its own! How?!"

"Chaos Goddess' Kick." Acnologia's huge dragon form was sent crashing into the ground as Isabella kicked him in the face. She remained floating in the sky.

"You...You again! DIE, BITCH!" He flew up towards him but she held her hand out calmly, stopping him as soon as his nose touched it. Her eyes flashed purple before his did as well, and he lost the will to fight. He landed on the ground and went back into his human form. She landed down across from him.

"It's time to go. You work for me now." she said, before closing her eyes and turning around, creating a chaos portal.

"Yes, of course, My Lady." he recited, following her through before it closed. Ichiya brought Christina to a halt.

"That was her, then?" Anna asked, her face angry.

"No. That was the other one. Lucy's grandmother." Erza replied.

"I see...we have to get back to your guild. Now."

"Roger that! MEEEEEEN!" Ichiya called out before turning it around and going back, full speed.

 **X**

"...Guys." Vera said, looking over to Mira and Laxus.

"Yeah?"

"I have a bad feeling. There's a large concentration of dark magic power at your guild."

"Oh no…"

"We should get going. Are you healed up?"

"Yes, for the most part." Mira replied, the two standing up. The three made way for the guild.

'One of them is Dad's God Soul, and the other is Mom. But her magic power feels off. The third one feels like a dragon, and that fourth...could it be?'

 **X**

Isabella appeared in front of the guild and walked in slowly. Acnologia jumped down next to Layla, who was atop a nearby hill. The two said nothing to each other, though the blonde mage glanced at him for a few seconds, noticing that he had been brainwashed as well.

Natsu's eyes widened as he looked behind him, finding Isabella.

"Layla? No…"

Zeref wasted no time in blasting a wave of darkness towards her, of which she dispersed through willpower alone.

'She's not playing around.'

"Darkness God's Twin Daggers." He ran past Natsu and up to her, slashing towards her with one of his blades before spinning around and trying the other one. She dodged both easily and placed a hand on his head before his God Soul left him.

"What…?" he muttered before she kneed him in the stomach, sending him flying back against the wall.

"Have you forgotten, Zeref? The nature of my magic allows me to do anything, even rewrite history itself. I released your God Soul and prevented you from using it for a while." He looked up at her with eyes of rage. She remained indifferent.

"Give her back to me, you bitch!" he growled. She kicked him upwards in the chin, making him cough up blood.

"Watch your mouth." She kicked him across the face before kneeing him in the chest multiple times. Every blow was infused with magic, so Zeref really felt the damage.

"Stop it! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Natsu yelled. She stopped her leg at a 90° angle before glancing back at him with an emotionless stare.

"You want me to stop? Why? Isn't he your enemy? I'm helping you out."

"This is hard for me to accept...but I owe my life to him! Even if he's doing the wrong thing, he's my brother, and he brought me back to life! I wouldn't be alive without him!"

"So then why are you fighting him?"

"To show him that he's going about his goals all wrong. You're fighting him to kill him!"

"He wants to die." She turned back to him. "I erased the Timelapse from existence, Zeref. Your 'get out of jail free card' is no longer possible." His eyes widened in anger and disappointment.

"...Why? Why do you have to ruin everything that I've worked so hard for? THIS WORLD WOULD BE SAFE IF ONLY YOU DIDN'T INTERFERE ALL THE DAMN TIME! YOU'RE NOT A GOD! **YOU'RE A MONSTROSITY!"** he roared.

There was a few moments of silence before she glared at him.

"How dare you speak to me that way." she said maliciously before smacking him across the face.

"A monstrosity? I am God, the one true ruler of this universe. I am the one keeping this world and its inhabitants in check."

"You're the one destroying it. You don't give this world enough of a chance before you decide to pass judgement. And you never will, either. You don't understand what it's like to be in our place. You're blind to the truth."

"I don't understand? I was once mortal as well. Just because I didn't possess the powers yet doesn't mean that there wasn't anyone watching over us. Chaos has existed since the beginning of time, and will never cease to exist. Now then, if our little talk is over, I need to get on with my plan." She turned around to face Natsu and held up E.N.D.'s book.

"Recognize this?"

"Kh-!"

"I'll take that as a yes. Then I'm sure you must know what will happen when I open it. He used his strength to break free of Zeref's bindings and ran towards her. But before he could reach her, she had already opened the book and began to recite a spell for awakening his inner demon.

"Σηκώνομαι, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, και να τα απόβλητα σε αυτόν τον κόσμο, αφήνοντας μόνο τα πτώματα των νεκρών τους εχθρούς σας και θύελλα τέφρας και φλόγες στο πέρασμά σας." **[A/N: This is in Greek, due to Zeref's heritage. The translation is this: "Arise, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, and lay waste to this world, leaving only the corpses of your fallen foes and a storm of ash and flames in your wake." The Greek letters are pronounced like this: "Sikónomai, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, kai na ta apóvlita se aftón ton kósmo, afínontas móno ta ptómata ton nekrón tous echthroús sas kai thýella téfras kai flóges sto pérasmá sas."]**

Natsu seemed frozen in place before he started breathing heavily and let out a roar of bloodlust.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out, running towards the guild as fast as she could, Gray and Happy following closely behind.

"Natsu…?!" Mira gasped as her group arrived at the guild and looked in. Anna's group landed nearby, and quickly got off the ship. Yury and Mavis followed, and Gildarts and Cana arrived last. Lucy ran up to the door and tried to go in to help.

"I don't think so. Leave him." Layla said, jumping down in front of her, preventing her from going any further.

"Mom! Help him!" she said before noticing that Layla's eyes were no longer their normal chocolate color. They were light purple. She stepped back, not trusting her at the moment. Natsu's roar continued as his shirt shredded itself. He became surrounded in a blaze of fire as markings that looked similar to devil slayer ones appeared all over his face, chest and back. Dragon scales formed around his eyes, and their color changed to red while the pupils became slits. Red wings began to grow from his back, bigger than his whole body. Horns began to grow out of his head, curving upward. A red tail grew out from his lower waist, and now his eyes were glowing red, brimming with energy. He stopped yelling once the transformation had completed. He remained still for a moment, looking over at Zeref, who seemed surprised, but was still bleeding profusely, and slouching against the wall. He then set his sights on Isabella, who was watching him with interest. He noticed the book in her arms, before it disintegrated into heat particles. He narrowed his eyes before rushing towards her with a new level of speed that surprised everyone, even her.

She jumped back, avoiding his punch, and when he went for another one, she blocked it with an open palm.

"You are mine. And no one else's." She said commandingly, her royal purple eyes flashing in color before his did as well. He remained still before lowering his hand and kneeling before her.

"Natsu, no!" Lucy screamed.

"I am yours to command." he said in a deeper and raspier voice than before. She smiled and walked out, Natsu standing back up and following.

"Natsu!" Erza walked up to him. He didn't bat an eye. "I know you're still in there. You need to break free! You can't listen to her!" she pleaded. He remained silent.

"...Natsu. Take care of her." Isabella ordered before jumping back up onto the ledge with the others.

"With pleasure." he cracked his knuckles and neck. He glared at Erza, making her step back, afraid.

"Natsu...you wouldn't-!" she cried before he sped past her, clawing through her torso. Her armor was destroyed, and her blood spilled out everywhere, especially from her mouth and down her chin.

"Gah…" she fell over, blacking out.

"ERZAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Lucy shrieked.

"NATSU, WHAT THE HELL?!" Gray yelled, running up to him and punching him in the chest with Devil Slayer Magic.

"What…?" His attack didn't even faze him. Natsu grabbed Gray by the throat and lifted him up before throwing him through the guild, making him crash through the walls and land close to Zeref, also defeated.

"His power...I never thought it was this much…" he choked out.

'This wasn't how this was supposed to be! I did this! I can't believe it...this is all my fault!' Lucy screamed inside her head, unable to stop the tears flowing from her eyes, her hand over her mouth.

He looked around at the others, before settling on Mira.

"Another one that cares for me...another one that needs to disappear…" he snarled, igniting his claw again. He began to walk towards her, making Mira hide behind Laxus, shaking.

"Don't you dare." Laxus stepped forward, producing lightning around himself. Natsu didn't care, and kept walking forward.

"Your lightning doesn't hurt. Have you forgotten that it's my dual mode?" he whispered before slapping his hand away and impaling him through his chest with his hand. Laxus was the next one to fall over.

"LAXUS!" Mira screamed, before gasping as Natsu walked up to her and clawed her across her stomach, tearing a hole through her, blood pouring out. She fell down on top of him.

'Mira too?! This is a nightmare…' Lucy fell onto her knees, unable to comprehend what was going on. He turned around and walked towards Lucy slowly, his eyes dark.

'No...No! No no no no no! NO! NOOOOOOO!' she shrieked inside her mind as he continued towards her. He held out his hand and grabbed her throat as well.

"Natsu...please don't…" she cried, looking at him with watery eyes.

"! ? …" he looked at her, not saying anything, before gently lowering her to the ground.

"Oh?" Isabella tilted her head, looking at the two curiously. He grabbed his head, growling.

"Ugh...Lucy…"

"H-Huh…? T-That's right! F-Fight it, Natsu!" she called out.

"Hm...It seems that his love for you is so great that it's overpowering his rage." she mused. He began to walk back over to her.

"But I can easily rectify that." she channeled darkness on her hand before Silver flew down towards her from above. She looked up and caught his punch, throwing him back down with the others.

"So this was your plan all along? To awaken him?" he asked angrily.

"My plan was far more than that. A plan that simple is more suited for someone of Zeref's caliber. Do not think I'm on the same level."

"Then what was it?" he said through clenched teeth.

"I'm not going to give you all the details just yet. Yes, awakening END and controlling him, Layla, and Acnologia was always the team I wanted. But I was keeping an eye on you long before this war began. And I'm disappointed from what I've seen. Fairy Tail is a loud and destructive guild, that outside of their own members, disregards everyone else. And while Alvarez has noble goals, it is an empire that subjugates other nations under its rule and plans and executes invasions for that purpose. You are both warring powers that cause inconveniences for the non-magic community. You are at war with each other. And even if Fairy Tail wins and somehow defeats Acnologia, they'd just go back to destroying other guilds without much motivation."

"You think that's what we do?" Gildarts asked, scowling at her.

"You think I'm wrong?" she replied. "I've been watching over Earthland for 36 years now. And I've grown tired of everything. So many guilds and dark guilds emerging and fighting each other. It will never end. And so a clean slate has to be made again. This world is a failure, and needs to be erased from existence."

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled, except for Yury, Silver, and Zeref, who understood her powers.

"It's all Zeref's fault, really. If he didn't bring Natsu back to life, he wouldn't have been cursed, then Acnologia wouldn't have gained power, and Alvarez wouldn't have been founded. Precht wouldn't have founded Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros never would have been created. It's all a chain of events that starts with him."

"...If Zeref didn't bring Natsu back to life...then what purpose would I have for living?" Lucy asked softly, gaining everyone's attention.

"I met him by pure coincidence that day, and he invited me to join Fairy Tail, an offer that I happily accepted. But if he was never revived, never existed in this time, then that wouldn't have happened."

"Remember that chain of events I mentioned? If Natsu didn't exist, your mother would never have died or left."

"That may be true, but...then I'd still be at home, in line to inherit my father's company...something I never wanted to do! So in a strange way...Zeref made this world better by bringing Natsu back!" she justified.

"You may have your friends convinced, but not me. Reviving Natsu did more bad to this world than good. To think that I had hopes for this new world after the last one...it seems that was all for nothing. You didn't help either." she looked down at Anna, making her narrow her eyes. Isabella sighed.

"Since I'm nice, and since it takes a fair amount of preparation to destroy an entire civilization, I'm giving you one week. Enjoy yourselves in your last moments. Lucy, Vera, I'm sorry. But I've decided to leave you here instead of taking you with me."

The girls didn't seem too affected, preferring to stay in Earthland anyway.

"That is, of course, assuming that you can survive this." she smirked. "Layla."

"...Night Goddess' Black Hole!" She clapped her hands together, and then lifted one over the other, forming a small black sphere of gravity between them. She placed it in front of her in the air, before spreading their arms out, making it enlarge until it was bigger than a person. It started absorbing everything, inhaling with a huge gust of wind. Everyone gripped themselves into the ground or held onto something, feeling themselves slip, getting sucked into the black hole.

"If you fall into this, you'll be disintegrated. So long." Isabella said, creating a portal and walking into it, followed by Acnologia and Natsu.

'...Zeref….I love you.' Layla thought, looking back into the guild at him before walking in as well, the portal closing behind them.

"Light God's Pulverization!" Yury jumped up towards the hole, and blasted light particles into it, hoping to obliterate it. But it wasn't. Nothing happened.

"My magic's ineffective?! Gah!" He felt himself getting sucked in before Mavis grabbed him and flew him back down to everyone else.

"How can we stop this thing?!" Gildarts yelled.

"You can't…" Zeref said from inside. Everyone looked at him, bewildered.

"Night Magic warps reality...it's not something physical that you can destroy…"

"Then what do we do?!" Lucy screamed. "Huh?!" She looked at herself, noticing a bright golden aura pouring off of her body. They turned into particles and whirled around in the air before gathering and materializing into a person.

"Y-You-!" Lucy began, before the figure jumped up towards the portal without hesitation, and blew it apart with a burst of pure golden energy, surprising everyone. The figure turned around, and their long hair blew around from the wind that the destroyed black hole emitted.

"G-Grandma Victoria…" Lucy mumbled. Victoria smiled down at her before walking over to Erza.

"Divine God's Healing." She blasted golden magic into Erza, healing her wounds and closing them up. She walked over to Laxus and Mira and did the same, closing up the wounds. She went into the guild and fixed Gray and Zeref too.

"You've really done it this time, haven't you?" she asked Zeref, looking down at him with her hand on her hip. He didn't answer. She sighed and walked back out.

"Silver, Yury. Move the five of them into the infirmary. I healed them, but they'll need some time to recover their stamina. And then go get Sting's group." The two stared at her for a moment before obeying, and moving the five. Lucy walked up to her.

"G-Grandma...how can you be here? I thought you passed away years ago?" She put her hand on Lucy's head and ran it through her hair.

"You should get some rest. So should the rest of you. I can't explain anything until the others are awake. Silver, you should go get Juvia and the others." She closed her eyes before walking into the guild, heading into one of the spare bedrooms.

"Lucy. You should listen to her." Silver said, creating a portal and going through it to get Juvia.

 **The Next Day**

Everyone went to the guild to check on how the others were doing mid morning. Victoria sat in the chair at the head of the guild, seemingly meditating, but without a meditation pose. Most of the guild members were sitting around the tables and chairs that were left after Natsu and Zeref's fight. After a few minutes, Zeref, Mira, Laxus, Erza, Gray, and Juvia came out, and sat down as well.

"Juvia, are you feeling better?" Gray asked.

"Y-Yes. Remarkably so. Juvia doesn't know what was different from when Silver-sama healed me, and when she healed me." Juvia pointed to the beautiful woman.

"My healing can only heal your wounds. And I only healed you just enough to escape death." Silver explained.

"My magic heals all wounds and magic power. The only thing you needed was rest." Victoria said.

"So then, who are you?" Zeref asked.

"Victoria. Victoria Heartfilia, right?" Anna asked.

"That's right. I'm Lucy's Great-Grandmother."

"It's nice to finally meet you."

"You as well. I passed along your book and instructions to Isabella, and she did the same to Layla. I passed away in X770, so I'm afraid I didn't live long enough to meet you."

"Yes, I learned of that when I visited Layla's childhood home. May I ask why you're here before us, then?"

"Yes. That's what I wanted to explain. Let me start at the beginning. All of you, pay attention, because I'm only going to say this once. Some of you already know this, but listen anyway. But first, let me ask: Have any of you ever wondered what happened before the year X1?" Their eyes all widened before shaking their heads.

"In truth, Earthland has not existed forever. This planet, Earth, has existed for 4 ½ billion years. In the beginning, nothing in this universe existed except for Mist. And from Mist, Chaos formed, an eternally powerful void. From Chaos came Nyx, the night, and Erebus, the darkness. From these two came Aether, the light, and Hemera, the day. From Aether and Hemera came Gaia, who then gave birth to Uranus, and those two would go on to have many children. At first, the earth was simply a ball of fire and rock, but Chaos cooled it down, making a large ocean, which covered 90% of the earth. Evolution would then take its place over millions of years, and about 6 million years ago, the first humans came into existence. Civilizations have existed for about 200,000 years, and recorded history goes back about 10,000 years or so. Humans started using a calendar that marked the years in numbers, followed by an abbreviation. BC means 'Before Christ', in which the larger the numbers were, the further back in time you went. After Jesus Christ was born, the year switched from 1 BC to 1 AD, which means Anno Domini, or 'In the Year of our Lord.'Civilization continued on for 2020 years, becoming more advanced, and giving birth to many great nations. But along with those countries came evil rulers and wars. And eventually, in the year 2020, which would now be 792 years ago, Chaos wiped out all life, and with the help of his six primordial gods, created new land, ours, and new citizens. This time, the gods decided to bless 10% of the population with the ability to use magic, like them, though to a much lower degree. A new calendar was created, and the year X1 began."

"That's impossible." Erza interrupted.

"It's not. It's the truth. Do you think people just discovered how to use magic on their own? Nowadays, you can learn any type that you want, but at that time, people had no concept of what magic was, and didn't even know that it was possible. Let me continue. The gods believed that if they gave people magic, they would also have the power to heal others, besides causing wars. They believed this to be smarter than the previous world and more successful. But alas, mages formed guilds and dark guilds, and warred with each other once again. In order to keep these mages in line, the five gods decided to bless a single person of their choosing with some of their own magic powers, as well as the ability to channel the spirit of their god to gain more power. This ability came to be known as Take Over: God Soul." Some of their eyes widened, as Yury, Silver, and Zeref just closed their eyes.

To accomplish this, the gods took on human forms and temporarily discarded their magic powers in order to journey down to earth from Olympus. They scoured the land for one year, building relationships with the mortals living there. At the end of the year, whoever they were closest to, whether it be a friend or a lover, they would bless them and their family with magic power. As it turned out, the choices were all lovers. After a night of intimacy, the gods explained who they really were to their lovers, and apologized for having to leave and resumed their duties. They did however explain their plan and promised to continue to bless one special child within their families every few generations. And so those five gained the powers of a god, and were to keep watch over the world. The union of those five and the gods produced children to continue the line. Gaia's family would be known as the Belserions. Uranus' family would be known as the Fullbusters. Erebus' family would be known as the Dragneels. Aether's family would be known as the Dreyars. And Nyx's family would be known as the Heartfilias."

Everyone looked at the members of the various families.

"So then...we really are descended from gods, huh?" Laxus asked.

"Indeed you are. Perhaps that's one of the reasons that Layla was so close to you. She knew, though your father and Makarov did not. It's also not pure coincidence that she and Silver got along so well. The Fullbuster and Heartfilia families have been close for a long time. For a few hundred years, things were quite peaceful, and the gods were quite happy. Until two people mucked it all up, for lack of a better word." she narrowed her eyes at Zeref, who looked down. She sighed, continuing.

"In the early years of the X300s, Erebus chose Zeref as his next vessel. However, his family was attacked by a rampaging dragon, killing both his parents as well as his younger brother Natsu. After studying the Black Arts, he created various magic items such as the Tower of Heaven and the Eclipse Gate. Ankhseram, the God of Death, then punished him for using his magic to toy and manipulate with human life, laying the contradicting curse on him. This act messed everything up with the five's agreement. They all said that they would choose no new vessels until all five current ones were dead. Well, with Zeref now immortal, that was rather hard to do. Zeref subsequently created the Etherious, and revived Natsu as END, in order to attempt to kill himself, but Natsu was too young to be awakened, and so instead, he left him under Anna and Igneel's care."

Anna nodded, confirming the story as fact.

"While Zeref was performing his experiments, Gaia chose Eileen as her choice. As you know, Erza, Wendy, she was the first Dragon Slayer, and underwent Dragonification. This multiplied her lifespan, so she lived for hundreds of years as well. Other mages discovered that they could learn the same type of magic from dragons, and so Acnologia learned the magic as well, and went on to become the strongest Dragon, reveling in his destruction. When Natsu went under Igneel's care, he was introduced to four other orphans that were also adopted by dragons: Gajeel, Wendy, Sting and Rogue. While you five lived with your dragons, you also learned Dragon Slayer Magic. Although this was for a greater purpose."

"To...defeat Acnologia?" Wendy asked.

"That's right. Although since the world was still relatively new, the atmosphere had not developed enough Ethernano yet to make you strong enough to defeat him. And so, Zeref, Anna, and the dragons came up with a plan. That they would seal themselves inside of you to prevent dragonification. Using the Eclipse Gate, Anna would send you 400 years into the future, a time that would be rich with Ethernano, and you would become strong enough to defeat him in this time period. While waiting for you to arrive, Zeref went on to found Alvarez and search for suitable allies, preferably the other four choices. At some point, he came across Eileen, and reversed her Dragon form, but didn't recruit her yet. Want to continue?" She looked over at Yury.

"...In the X680s, after allowing Mavis to join my group, we came across Zeref, and he offered to teach us magic. In X686, Makarov was born, and Rita died during childbirth. Or so I thought...In the year X700, I went alone to Tenroujima on a mission, and met Zeref for a second time. This time, he hid nothing from me. He told me the truth about Rita's death, and that he was another one of the gods, searching for me. He explained about his curse as well as END, and wanted me to fake my death and join him, an offer I accepted. In addition to my self-taught magics, Zeref taught me the Black Arts, and I cast Law, also gaining Ankhseram's curse, and becoming immortal. After 50 or so years, Zeref had discovered the location of the final two: in a small town in Seven, the country to the north of Fiore. Living right next to each other, no less. Silver Fullbuster and Layla Heartfilia." Zeref took over.

"As Layla and Zeref were still very young, I left them alone until they became older. Instead, I focused my time in recruiting other members of the Spriggan 12. The next I heard of the two of them was in X761, when I had discovered that they became the two youngest S-Class wizards in history, at the ages of only 13 and 15. Yury and I met with Layla one day, and explained to her about the Eclipse Gate. She was already aware of her role, having been given the book by her own mother, and knew that she was already Nyx's choice. She explained that she wanted us to teach her the Black Arts and the Three Great Fairy Magics, in order to become strong enough to open the gate by herself. We did so, and she left Fairy Tail so that she wouldn't endanger anyone with her intentions or dark magic power." He looked at Silver, who began to explain.

"When I married Mika, and Gray was born, I left the guild to spend more time with them. But in X774, Deliora attacked and we were killed. Layla convinced Keyes to revive me, and I was resurrected. But I was just a zombie meant to obey him. I only had a fraction of my previous strength." He looked at Gray. "We both knew that at some point, you or at least one of your friends would defeat him, and I would be returned to the dead. But Layla and I had already plotted behind his back. That once I was dead once again, she would revive me a second time. She did this when the war first began, and I was brought back as you see me now. Layla was more experienced in dark magic and necromancy, and was far stronger than any of the Tartaros demons. So when I was brought back this time, my original body was returned to me, and I was revived at full power. I also knew since I was a child that I was Uranus' choice, one of the five. I knew about her intentions to fake her death and join Alvarez. I agreed that after she would revive me, I would join Alvarez as well. And here I am."

"Layla trained with Yury and studied with me for years." Zeref started again. "Layla had married at a very young age, and likewise had Lucy at a young age as well. But after she was born, she once again returned to me, continuing to fight and learn. Over time, she confessed to me that things with Jude weren't going so well. They were growing apart. After all, she wasn't home that often, and he was always busy with work. On the other hand, she and I were spending an awful lot of time together, and we began to find ourselves mutually attracted to each other. After she opened the gate, she became bedridden with MDD for real. But, being a skilled alchemist, she knew how to create a cure. She gave August instructions, and once he made it, she drank it, expecting to make a full recovery in a few days. At this point, I asked her the same thing that I asked Yury. She already knew of my motivations and goals, and so I had nothing to explain to her. I simply asked her if she wanted to join us. If she did, she'd have to fake her death. She accepted, and confessed her feelings to me the night that we left. I did the same, and we decided to get married." Zeref turned to Lucy. "I asked her if she wanted to bring you with us, but she declined very strongly. She, under no circumstance, wanted you to join Alvarez, and become a dark mage." Lucy looked down sadly, but somewhat happy. "And that's it."

"Well then, we've reached the crux of this discussion. I'm not sure if your parents left this part out or not when explaining your powers to you, but...do you know about the prophecy?" Victoria asked.

"Yes." All three answered.

"Layla knows as well." Silver confirmed.

"Very well. Then let me explain to the rest of you. Anyone who becomes one of the chosen five, or God's Envoys, as they're sometimes called, is said to either become a great boon to society, or become detrimental to it during their lifetime. Should they turn out to cause destruction, the gods will simply help heal the damage they caused after they pass. After all, despite having the powers of gods, they still have a normal lifespan. Well, until now. Three of you have lived for hundreds of years. And even though Irene is now dead, the two of you will live forever, unless you get rid of your immortality. By the time that Aether learned of Yury gaining immortality, the five gods have decided to interfere. Otherwise, they'd never be able to choose anyone again, since not all of you would die. Gods are unable to descend down to earth. Their magic power is so immense that it would break this world apart, just with them being here. They must leave their powers in Olympus should they want to come here. But if they did that, they wouldn't be able to use magic. Therefore, Chaos whispered to Nyx and gave her a solution. To find someone with a special magic power, 1000 times rarer than that of an Envoy. It took 22 years. As it turns out, in the year X722, while I was pregnant with Isabella, Nyx contacted me, and informed me that my daughter had a special kind of magic power, one that had an equal mixture of light and darkness: it was chaotic, and compatible with Chaos. And so, when she was born, Chaos entered her body in its entirety. But she was not aware. Nyx explained that when the time was right, her powers would be awakened. In the meantime, I taught her Celestial and Night Magic, like myself. In the year X756, her house burned down in an accident, and both she and her husband were killed, though Layla survived and began living with Silver. Only she wasn't killed. Having Chaos inside of her, she was now immortal. She was part god. Nyx explained the situation to her, and then she visited me for advice. I told her that her role was now to watch the universe, and make sure that everything was going smoothly. And for a few years, she took her job seriously and executed her tasks effectively, one of which was preventing Alvarez's first invasion." She stopped and looked down.

"But…?" Zeref began. Victoria sighed.

"Having never been inside of a human being before, the gods did not know that the influence of chaos was far too strong on a person's mind. Isabella's happiness was vanquished, and in the year X765, she became a ruthless tyrant. Having the body of a mortal, she was able to journey between Olympus, Earth, and Tartarus whenever she wanted to. A concept that she quickly abused. She went out of her way to stop all wars and kill anyone who started them, or started to plot them. The gods could not stop her, they were weaker than her, and at her mercy. Once Layla joined Zeref, she calmed down a bit. She thought that maybe she could convince you to give up on your invasion. But alas, the two of you fell in love, and she helped plan it. Fortunately, you all had to deal with other problems first, like possessed Jellal, Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros. Isabella knew that you'd be strong enough to defeat them, so she didn't bother interfering. But by the time that Alvarez began to invade, she knew that you wouldn't be able to defeat the five Envoy's or Acnologia, and so she decided to take a more active role in the war. And that's where we are now."

"So then...why don't you explain more about yourself? Thanks for the recap, but it's time that you tell us how you're here, and why you're here." Zeref said somewhat demandingly. Vera went and jumped up onto his lap.

"Very well. Let me start by saying this: there is a way to defeat my daughter, as much as you think there isn't." This surprised everyone, especially Lucy. Thinking back to her dream, her grandmother had said that she could do anything, from making a glass of wine, to making people explode.

"What?! How sure are you about that?!" Zeref asked.

"100%. When Nyx first informed me about Chaos choosing Isabella, she and the other gods also warned me about it. Earlier, I said that they didn't know that her personality would be overtaken. That was partially true, but they did suspect that it was possible. And so, Nyx helped me perfect my Night Magic, and Aether taught me Light Magic, as well as a new kind that he developed: Holy Magic. It is the purest form of light, and is able to reject and dispel chaos magic."

"Holy Magic? Why haven't I heard of this?" Yury asked.

"My role in this war is a failsafe, in case Isabella went rogue. Since it's actually impossible to destroy Chaos, the only way to beat her is to separate the two of them, and bring her original personality back. And the only way to do that is to have someone who has a powerful psychological hold or connection with her. Namely me. After all, you and her have only ever met once. That's why Aether taught me. Nyx also took interest in me because of my appearance. As I explained to you before, Lucy, most Heartfilia women have blonde hair, just like you. I was a special case. My father had black hair, and so I was the only woman in our family to ever have black hair. For some reason, that meant my magic power was more similar and adaptable to Nyx's own, because I looked like her. And so, once I mastered my new magic, two things happened. First, I was given access to Olympus whenever I wanted. Something no mortal or Envoy was ever granted. And second, was when I died, Nyx would convert my body and consciousness into spirit particles. Then, when Isabella made her move, if she ever did, I would be implanted into the current Heartfilia heiress. At the time, it was Layla, but she then went to join Alvarez, so we waited one more generation until Lucy came along." She turned to her descendant.

"When you fell asleep that time, Nyx created that dream for the purpose of leaving me in your subconscious. And then, when the time came, when you were in danger, my spirit would transform into a physical body, albeit temporarily. I can only stay like this for about two weeks, before I turn back into a spirit and enter your head again. And then I'll disappear completely by the end of the year." She finished, standing up.

"So the bottom line is this: whether you like it or not, we have to go to Olympus to finish this war. Isabella gave us one week before this world is erased. Time moves slower up there, but we still have to leave tomorrow, to have enough time to defeat every enemy. Not all of you can come; Olympus is the domain of the gods, and as such, only spirits and those with a tremendous amount of magic power can withstand the pressure of being up there. If you are overpowered by it, it will crush you, and you will stay up there as a spirit for eternity. Decide who's going to go, try to get some sleep, and meet back here tomorrow to discuss our enemies and our plan. That's all."

 **End.**


	21. Dragon of the Apocalypse

**Songs**

 **Arriving in Olympus: Main Menu Theme (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Exploring Avalon: Wolf Blood (Adrian von Ziegler)**

 **Meeting Irene: Battle for Camelot (Tartalo Music)**

 **Misc. Conversations: Acoustic Guitar, Relaxation, Moonlight (Jazz Guitar Music Zone)**

 **Castle Layout: Immortality of Tempester (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Battle Against Acnologia Begins: Invasion (Bleach OST)**

 **Dragon Forces vs. Acnologia: Itachi Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Rainbow Dragon Force: Piercer of Heaven (Bleach OST)**

 **Lucy's Dilemma: Will of the Heart [Orchestrated Version] (Bleach OST)**

Lucy walked towards the guild, where she found Anna. No one else was there. She went and sat down next to her ancestor.

"Lucy. What is it?" she asked, smiling.

"Um...what should I call you?"

"Just call me Anna."

"Alright. How do you feel about all of this? And what do you know about the gods?"

"I'm...surprised, but probably not as much as you. I'm sure you know by now that I was the one who opened the Eclipse Gate and travelled into the future with the Dragon Slayers?"

"Yes…"

"I was not aware that your friend Natsu was a demon. Zeref did not tell me about any of that. In addition, I thought that your mother Layla had died only a few days after she opened the gate. I only just learned from your scarlet-haired friend that she is still alive and well." Lucy looked down sadly.

"From the look on your face, I take it that you didn't know either?" She shook her head.

"I see...About the gods...I myself have never met them. My powers were quite standard for my family. Though I'm a powerful Celestial Spirit Mage, that's the only type of magic that I know. I was never able to use Night Magic, like your mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. So I suppose Nyx never took interest in me. I do know that she considers each and every Heartfilia family. She is not like the other gods. But she only speaks directly with those of a particular magic capacity: those that can use Night Magic."

"So then you don't really know what she's like…" Lucy sounded disappointed.

"No. I'm sorry. But I do know something helpful."

"And that would be…?"

"Remember what Victoria said? About how the Envoys are said to help or hurt the world while they're active? Well, there's another prophecy, and it's about the Dragneel and Heartfilia families."

"What is it?"

"It's said that every member will be plagued by darkness. The Dragneels because of their personalities, and the Heartfilias because of their powers. Zeref pushes people away because of his curse, and Natsu...well...you saw yesterday. And as for our family...Victoria died knowing that her own daughter was out to destroy the world, and that she would have to spend her final moments trying to kill her. Isabella and her husband were killed in a fire, only in their early 30s, and then when she awakens, she finds out that she has to oversee three dimensions. Layla lost her parents and Silver when they were quite young, and then had to betray her friends, being branded a traitor. She couldn't take you with her, and she and Vera know that Zeref wants to die, effectively leaving them alone again, without a father or husband."

"..." Lucy was silent. She hadn't thought about it that way. All this time, she assumed that her mother was happy living in Alakatasia, but perhaps that wasn't the whole truth.

"Do you know where Zeref is?"

"He's out on the cliff above town. Why?"

"I need to ask him a few things." She ran out, waving goodbye.

 **X**

"...Um….Zeref?" she asked timidly, the Black Wizard turning his head slightly. He was sitting at the edge of the cliff, on the grass under a tree.

"Lucy...don't get close to me." She shook her head and sat down next to him anyway. His eyes widened before looking back out into the town.

"I guess my powers haven't gone back yet...I did get pretty out of control back there…"

"Yeah...I...wanted to ask you a few things...about my mother." She could tell that he froze up. Apparently this was a sensitive subject for him right now.

"...What do you want to know?"

"What she's like when she's...at home, with you and Vera. Not under my grandmother's control."

"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever met." he said instantly, making Lucy blush slightly. "And...after what happened with Mavis, I didn't think I'd ever be able to love again."

"So...what made you fall in love with her?"

"It wasn't just her beauty. She was very friendly, funny, and loving, but also serious when she needed to be, and she always put her loved ones first."

"...Did she though? She left Gildarts, Laxus, and Mystogan…"

"But she never stopped thinking about them. She thought that Alvarez was where she belonged. The night that we left, she cried. She cried because she couldn't bring you with her, as much as she wanted to. She said 'I don't want her to turn out like me.'" Lucy tried to stop the tears from flowing.

"But...didn't she fight Gildarts?"

"Yes...About that...she couldn't go back. Yet he refused to let her go. And so the two decided to fight. But Layla was unwilling. Have you ever seen her angry?"

"Yes...it's not a pretty sight...she lost control of her magic when I saw her."

"Well, she purposely put herself into that kind of daze, in order to fight Gildarts without being conscious of it. She did heal him after he lost. But nevertheless, she came with me. Layla is the only woman that I can love. My curse does not affect her, since she's cured herself. Therefore, I can be myself around her. And Vera is our treasure. I love her, and so does she. She wants you to get along with her." he smiled.

"We already do. Mom…" Lucy smiled back, sobbing.

"Don't cry. Come on, we have to start heading down to the guild."

"Wait...one more thing. Have you and her ever...gotten into a fight?"

"A fight? No, not us. But...there was one time...she and Silver got into one."

"What?! But they're so close!"

"Yes, but...after Silver's first resurrection, she told Tartaros and the rest of Alvarez to keep Gray a secret from him. She didn't want him to know that his son was still alive. After all, should they meet up again, or seek each other out, they could bring up repressed memories that could cause their mental state to collapse. However, when he witnessed the Grand Magic Games last year, he obviously saw Gray fight on TV. Something that surprised him, but also made him angry. He knew that we had been keeping an eye on Fairy Tail for years, and there was no way that we didn't know Gray survived. He came to Alvarez, and confronted Layla about it. She admitted that she kept it a secret from him, and that now that he knew, he was free to get payback for her decision. And so he beat her up. And she stood there and took it. At the end of it, she was unconscious for 3 days, and almost on the brink of death."

"She would go that far for him?" Lucy asked.

"She would go that far for anyone that she cares about. I know that she said she doesn't want you to end up like her, but...Lucy, she's exactly the kind of woman that you should strive to be like."

"...Thank you for telling me." she smiled, before hugging him.

'My curse still isn't affecting her...I wonder if she has the potential to use Night Magic after all? Maybe that's why…' They broke away.

"Come on, let's go." she smiled, the two of them heading down towards the guild.

 **X**

They walked through the entrance about 15 minutes after they left. Everyone else was already there. Victoria once again stood at the head of the hall, assuming the position as leader.

"Is this everyone? Alright then, let me begin." Lucy and Zeref took a seat.

"I asked at the end of yesterday to decide who was going and who was staying, and that only those who were going needed to show up for this meeting. You all are sure that you want to go?"

Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, Gildarts, Jellal, Erza, Juvia, Gray, Silver, Mavis, Vera, Zeref, Mira, Laxus, Yury, Mystogan, Lucy, and Anna were all present, besides Victoria.

"Yes." They all answered.

"...Very well. I have not been to Olympus in quite a long time, and as such, it would be more beneficial to get information first, instead of heading right to the castle."

"Get information from where?" Jellal asked.

"There's three dimensions in the universe: Olympus, Earthland, and Tartarus. As you can guess from the names, Olympus is like heaven, while Tartarus is like hell. Departed spirits that are judged to be good are sent to Olympus, where they live in the city of Avalon. It's also one of the islands of Arthurian legend, which was named after this city. We'll go there and try to find someone familiar with the palace and its layout. Are you ready to go?" They all nodded, and she sighed before opening a gold and white portal, everyone standing up and following her through.

"What is this place?" Lucy asked, as they all looked around, seeing a world of endless gold and white.

"When a portal of god magic is used, it brings you to an endless dimension of your particular element. From there, you make another portal that brings you to your destination." She created another one, and they walked out onto a cliff that overlooked an entire world. A vast yellow clouded sky, with a huge castle in the distance on the right, as well as a large town in the distance on the left.

"Welcome to Olympus." Victoria announced, as they began to head down the mountain, towards Avalon.

"So…this is supposed to be above Earthland, right? What happens if you fly above the palace, and keep going?" Mavis asked.

"Nothing. You just keep going. This dimension goes on for an eternity. Eventually, you'd just fly up from below." She pointed to the endless void of sky below them.

"And if you jump down from here, you'd fall from above." They kept walking before they came to the entrance of the town.

"Welcome to Avalon." One of the guards greeted, looking at them. "Oh. You guys."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yury asked. Hades and Ultear were guarding the entrance.

"Ultear?" Gray asked. "What?! Why are you here?!"

"I passed away a few months ago from old age. We guard the entrance to Avalon now." Gray looked down sadly.

"Precht." Yury said.

"Hm. I didn't think I'd end up here, either. But apparently, you get judged based on your whole life's accomplishments, rather than what you were doing when you died. My good deeds outweighed the bad, and so I was sent here, as long as I didn't cause any trouble."

"Same for me." Ultear said. "Wait a minute...where's Natsu?"

"That's just it…" Lucy looked down sadly.

"He's...being controlled by Isabella." Zeref explained, walking forward.

"Oh dear…" Ultear shook her head. "That's not good."

"I assume then that you're here to get the boy back?" Hades asked.

"Yes. And also to kill Isabella." Victoria explained. The two of them were surprised for a second, before laughing.

"You can't. It's impossible."

"It's not. Holy Magic." Victoria said, her body flashing golden for a moment, surprising the other two greatly.

"Hm. Perhaps, but it's not a certain victory."

"You two should join us." Mavis offered.

"We can't." They said in unison.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Two reasons. First is that our strength is horribly insignificant compared to theirs. And secondly, we actually can't. We're dead. And therefore, we are merely spirits. And spirits are forbidden to enter the castle. If we do, we are disintegrated. Only those who have physical bodies can enter. In addition, they must have the blood of a god in them, in order to open the door."

"That's too bad." Victoria said. "So then, I take it that you don't know about the inside of the castle, since you can't enter."

"No. Sorry." Ultear replied.

"Do you know anyone who does?"

"Only those who were Envoys keep a physical body when they come up here. But once all five die and come here, the previous five are absorbed by Chaos and become part of it." Victoria held her head for a minute, thinking.

"Oh! Perfect! Thanks!" she said, before walking into the city. The others looked at each other, confused, before following her in.

"Um...Grandma Victoria...who are we looking for?"

"Ultear said that only five Envoys can exist here at a time. Four of you still live, which means that Irene should be around here somewhere. She's our only chance." Erza looked down awkwardly, wondering how her mother would greet them.

They heard loud music coming from a tavern eventually.

"Let's try this place." Yury opened the door, looking around the inside for people he knew. He spotted her and a few familiar faces sitting at the bar. He walked up and tapped Irene on the shoulder. She turned around before gasping and standing up.

"Yury?! What are you doing here?!"

"Long story." he rolled his eyes. "But it's really me." She hugged him. The others walked in.

"I don't know if you've ever met them, but I'm sure you're familiar with them." The other three turned around and revealed themselves, surprising Gray, Lucy, and Zeref.

"Ur…"

"Dad…"

"Mother…"

"Hello everyone." Ur, Jude, and Lydia **[A/N: That's the name I'm giving her.]** smiled at them.

"How can you be here?!" they all asked, before running up to them. They tried to hug them, but just passed right through.

"Sorry. You can't touch us. We're spirits, we're ethereal. After we died, we were judged, and ended up here." Lydia explained.

"I've only been here for a year." Jude told Lucy.

"I've been here for 18 years." Ur told Gray.

"I've been here for 400 years." Lydia told Zeref with a pouty face.

"Do you like it here?" Zeref asked.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it! I love it here! Although things have kind of declined in the past 27 years."

"X765...the year Isabella lost her personality." Victoria said.

"That's right. Of course, her actions did little to affect us individually, but for the city, more and more people started showing up, rather depressed that they died before they were meant to, and that there was nothing they could do to prevent it."

"Hmph. She needs to be stopped." Irene complained.

"That's what we're here for. We need your help. You're the only one that can enter the palace." Yury told her.

"Of course. We'll set out in the morning."

"In the morning?" Lucy yelled, distraught.

"The sun is setting." She led them outside, and looked into the sky, which had turned red.

"The majority of the people we're going to have to fight gain more power when it's nighttime. We should stay here for the night, and then head out when day breaks."

"Alright. I'll go rent out some rooms for us." Silver walked back into the tavern.

"I hope you're not planning on staying here for long. This realm isn't meant for mortals." Irene looked at them seriously.

"Only for a week." Zeref answered.

"Then you should be fine. Two weeks or longer and you turn into a spirit, stuck here forever. In the meantime, you can all explore the city if you'd like. You won't come back here until you're dead, after all." she giggled.

"That's alright...I think we'll just stay here. Oh, I meant to ask...where are the others?"

"Hmm? Others?"

"Yes. My mother's here, but my father's not."

"So the rest of them? Not all of them are in this city. There's more to Olympus than just Avalon. This is just the city closest to the castle. There are two others below here: El Dorado and Shangri-La. They're probably down there. Don't hold your breath for meeting them, especially if you're setting out tomorrow." she advised.

"Alright. Goodnight." Zeref walked into the tavern, followed by most of the group, save for Erza. She eyed her mother, somewhat curious, before Irene caught on and smiled at her. Erza smiled back before walking into the tavern.

 **X**

It wasn't a genuine smile. She laid awake at night in her bed, thinking. It was obvious why she was in Olympus and not Tartarus. She wasn't a bad person. But why was she being so friendly? Especially towards her? Erza was the one that fought her. And she lost. Her mother ended up committing seppuku. That was also something she didn't understand. She stretched and stood up, requipping underwear and pajamas under her sleeping shirt. She went downstairs and out the front door, looking around for her mother. She could hear and smell a bonfire nearby. She followed it to the edge of a cliff, finding Irene and Yury lying next to each other, looking up into the sky. They sensed her presence pretty easily.

"Erza? What are you doing up so late?" Irene asked, sitting up.

"Sorry if I'm...interrupting anything." The two blushed slightly, looking away. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"No, that's fine. I should get some sleep anyway." Yury said, sitting up as well.

"Alright. Goodnight." She kissed his cheek before he stood up and went back to the tavern. Erza sat down next to her mother.

"So...what would you like to talk about?" she asked, lying back again.

"How long have you two been...you know…" she asked.

"Oh, not that long. Only shortly before the war began. He came to me, wanting to move on from Rita. He said if he stayed in the past, he could not move forward to the future."

"I see…"

"Was that all? You came all the way out here just to ask me about my romantic life?" she teased.

"No, no! It was something different...your personality...what made you change? You're so much friendlier now."

"Ah...putting me on the spot."

"Silver told us that when you're descended from a god, it's possible to have your personality overtaken by them. At least, that's true for Zeref…"

"I see where you're going with this. It's true for all of us. But Layla, Yury, and Silver are able to maintain their own personalities at all times. They don't need the help of a god personality to fight someone. Zeref and I are the only ones who can still be controlled, though it's him more often than myself. He cannot control his powers, and while I can, I could not control my senses under Dragonification. I can now; just one of the perks of living here; but it wasn't that I was being controlled. I was angry. 400 years of being a dragon. 400 years of being an outcast. I was so set on changing bodies to escape my hell that I tossed aside our relationship with no regard. And for that, I'm sorry. I am. I realized at the end of our fight that I could not kill you. You were my only child. It may not be worth much, but I love you, Erza."

"...I love you too, Mom. I believe you. That was truly a heartfelt apology."

"Thank you."

"I think I'll sleep out here for the rest of the night." She yawned before closing her eyes. Irene smirked, before doing the same, and going to bed.

 **X**

"Dad...I wanted to tell you something…" Lucy began, the next morning. She woke up early to gather her thoughts about everything.

"It's about your mother, isn't it?" he asked.

"Y-Yes. Wait, how did you know?"

"I've known about your mother for quite some time now. Since I hired Phantom Lord 8 years ago. When you hire a dark guild, you are given a lot of options to choose from. From beginner guilds up to the top, which are the Balam Alliance: Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartaros. Although now all of those guilds are disbanded. But I also heard tales of a fourth, that declined to join the alliance. One that was far stronger than the other three. Most didn't know it existed, but because I met Zeref once or twice, I knew that it was him who ruled, and that it was called the Alvarez Empire. But by the time that I began looking into guilds, the rumor had changed. Zeref now led along with an Empress. A powerful and beautiful woman now ruled over the organization. And later on, after you left, I took a trip overseas to Alakitasia. I did some looking into the commanders of the Empire, and even journeyed to Vistarion. It didn't take me that long to figure out that it was your mother who was that Empress. I confronted her about it, and she explained everything to me, about Envoys and the Prophecy that she needed to fulfill. That she could not return to Ishgar, and not to tell Fairy Tail anything. I also saw her just the other day, when she returned to the castle with her new group. Though she didn't say anything."

"She's under her mother's control."

"Ah. Isabella. That explains things. Lucy. You have to get her back, no matter what. Not for my sake, but for hers."

"Yes. I promise I will!" she said, before she went off towards the Tavern to wake up the rest of them.

 **X**

"This is everyone then?" Irene asked. They nodded. "Then let's begin. The castle is divided into five parts: the south tower, which Acnologia has control over, is called Aaru, the name of the Ancient Egyptian heaven. The east tower, which END has control over, is called Takama-ga-hara, the supposed heaven of Shinto religion. The west tower, ruled by Layla, is called Eden, which was supposedly paradise according to ancient jewish and christian texts. They guard three keys, that are then used to unlock the castle itself, called Asgard. Then, the five most recent Envoys must dispel the magic barrier using their power, which will allow anyone who's not an Envoy to enter as well. Within Asgard lies the Five Primordial Gods. Hemera, the sixth, does not live up here. She chooses to live down below, with the others. Each of these gods also possess a special key, which we must obtain, in order to get to the very top floor. At the top is Valhalla, the throne room, where Isabella resides."

"So, it's as I feared...the gods are being controlled by her." Victoria muttered.

"Yes. That spells trouble for us. But we'll cross that threshold when we get there. The most important thing to do here, is to kill Acnologia, and get your friend and Layla back. Especially the last one. If we don't get Layla back, we cannot get into Asgard to fight Isabella. Understand?" They all nodded again.

"Good. Now then, who's going to take the lead on fighting the first three?" Victoria walked forward, leading the group.

"Our first opponent is Acnologia. And so we need every Dragon Slayer we have to fight against him. Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, Laxus, Vera, Irene, Yury. Can you all activate Dragon Force at will?"

"No. But I can turn into a dragon at will." Irene explained.

"That'll work too."

"Don't we need Natsu? After all, he was supposed to defeat him with us. Is there any chance we could switch the order?" Wendy asked.

"No can do." Irene shook her head. "There's only one path up to the castle, and we have to defeat Acnologia first. Even though Isabella probably placed him first because he's the weakest of the three, she also might have done it because she knew we wouldn't have Natsu. But, we have someone who completed the Dragonification process, as well as someone who can use eight different kinds of Dragon Slaying Magic. We should be able to defeat him."

"Then let's not waste any time. Are you all ready? We won't be able to turn back once we enter."

They all gulped before nodding.

"This is something we have to do." Lucy said.

"Yes." Victoria agreed. "Then let's begin." They started walking out of the city and towards Aaru.

"Um...Ms. Irene?" Lucy asked.

"Yes? What is it?"

"I talked to my dad earlier today, and he said that everyone came through the town just the other day. What happened?"

"Yes, that must have been just after she left Earthland. They arrived down in El Dorado, before coming up through Shangri-La, and finally though Avalon before going back into Asgard. We were all surprised to see who was with her."

"What did my mom do?"

"Nothing. She glanced at me and your father for a brief moment before continuing on. Her eyes were purple, like Isabella's. I knew then that she was under her control."

"I see…" They continued on, walking up the mountain before switching to a stone path, which led upward into Aaru.

"Well, here we are." They arrived at a set of large doors. "This door needs five dragon slayers to open it. And they have to be first generation." She walked forward, placing her hand at the center panel, pushing it in, and channeling a light green aura around herself. The other four walked up as well, and placed their hands on the other panels, likewise releasing a gray, light blue, white, and black magic aura. The door lit up and slowly opened inward, revealing a long hall, lit up only by gothic candle holders on the sides. They walked forward, heading down the hall to another set of doors, this time much smaller, a little taller than a human. These had no lock, and so Irene grabbed the door handles and opened them outward, making a large metallic creaking sound. This led into an incredibly large room, large enough to hold multiple dragons, where Acnologia sat at the back, in a throne, at the top of a small stairway. He grinned and stood up, walking down to the others.

"So...you're finally here...great! Then let's get this started!" he yelled, laughing. He wasted no time in unleashing his enormous steely gray magic power, releasing a hurricane around the throne room. Most of the Olympus group fell onto their knees, save for Victoria, Irene, Yury, Zeref, and Silver.

"Don't be intimidated! Remember why we're here! It's not just to get our friends back, it's to defeat him!" Victoria rallied. The others slowly stood back up.

"Hm…" Acnologia lowered his power, slightly impressed that they were withstanding him.

"Very well then. Darkness Dragon's Claw!" He rushed towards Wendy, who dodged the attack by jumping up, surrounded by wind.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" she blasted a tornado towards him, which he only opened his mouth and absorbed.

"Spread out!" Irene ordered, everyone quickly running to different places, forming a circle around him.

"Heh. So that's your plan, is it?"

"Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Sky Dragon's Roar!"

"White Dragon's Roar!"

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

"Star Dragon's Roar!"

"Earth Dragon's Roar!"

"Darkness Dragon's Roar!" They all unleashed beams of their respective elements from their mouths, trying to overwhelm him. But he just inhaled, absorbing all of the elements at once.

"Heh. As I explained to some of you before, I have the ability to eat any kind of magic to replenish my strength. It doesn't matter how many different kinds you throw at me, I'll eat it all! Darkness Dragon's Roar!" He launched his attack and rotated around, hitting all of them with it.

'He absorbs any type of projectile attack. We have to switch to physical.' Irene told everyone telepathically. They all rushed towards him again.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Slash!" Acnologia grinned as he blocked Wendy's attack.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" Gajeel appeared from behind and changed his arm into a thorned sword, swinging it towards him. The Dark Dragon grabbed Wendy's arm and tossed her away, blocking Gajeel's attack with his other arm.

"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!" Laxus appeared from above and threw a punch towards him, but he dodged it, knocking both Gajeel and Laxus away.

"Darkness Dragon's Claw!"

"White Dragon's Claw!" He and Sting clashed, overpowering the white dragon.

"I'm not just going to stand around, either! I'll destroy him without magic attacks! Meteor!" Jellal cast.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor!" Mystogan joined him, and sped towards their enemy at a blinding speed, kicking him back.

"I'm a Dragon! You can't hurt me with that kind of magic!" he laughed.

"We're not trying to." They said at the same time.

"What?"

"White Drive!" Sting charged up energy all around himself, producing a thin white aura that amplified his powers.

"Holy Nova!" He charged up energy into his fist before rushing towards the dark dragon and releasing it all with a single punch, creating a huge explosion that pushed everyone else back against the walls.

When the blast died down, Acnologia had blocked the attack, but there were a few burn marks on his arms.

'It worked a little bit.'

"Shadow Drive! Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!" Rogue sped past him from behind, lifting him into the air with a cyclone of shadows that cut up his body.

"Are you ready?" Rogue asked, landing next to his friend.

"Dragon Force!" They yelled together.

"Holy Shadow Dragon's…"

"Flash Fang!" They yelled, forming spheres of light and shadow in their hands, then combining them and unleashing a huge blast of black light towards Acnologia.

"Hrgh...not bad…" He muttered, his body covered in more burn marks.

"But…that won't do it. Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Darkness Incarnate!" He surrounded himself in a veil of black energy before disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye. A few seconds later, he went back to the same spot, but everyone that wasn't a Dragon Slayer was cut down, and lay on the ground, unable to move.

"What did you do?" Laxus growled.

"I cut them all down and paralyzed them. I want to eliminate you dragons first. Then I'll worry about the others. Now come."

"It's time." Irene told them all, before beginning to transform into a dragon. Acnologia grinned and followed suit.

"Dragon Force!" The others yelled. They all activated it, gaining scales on their faces and around their arms, increasing their magic power.

Irene and Acnologia began clawing at each other and biting.

"Let's do this!" Yury yelled, the others jumping up towards their enemy.

"Karma Demon: Iron Spiral!" Gajeel yelled, transforming his legs into a giant drill, and rotating them at a high speed, rushing down towards the black dragon, and drilling into him as Irene jumped away, not getting hit.

"Shattering Light: Sky Drill!" Wendy jumped up and created a wind barrier around them, before swinging her arms, causing a huge burst of wind energy to engulf Acnologia. He was not injured from these two attacks.

"Holy Nova!" Sting once again gathered power into his palms before unleashing it against the giant dragon.

"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!" Rogue turned his body into shadows and wrapped himself around Acnologia, causing damage with his body.

"Lightning Dragon's Roaring Thunder!" Laxus jumped up next, unleashing a massive blast of lightning against the dragon, attempting to electrocute him.

"Star Dragon's Secret Art: Celestial Crusher!" Vera flew down from above and smashed her foot into his head.

"You pissants! Apocalypse Dragon's Extermination!" He roared, unleashing a massive blast of energy that knocked them all back, and heavily injured everyone. Only Gajeel, Laxus, Sting, and Yury stood back up.

"You three...I have a way to kill him. But I need some time to get it ready."

"Say no more." Gajeel grinned. "Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!" Gajeel layered his dual mode on top of his Dragon Force. "Iron Shadow Dragon Force!"

"White Shadow Dragon Mode. White Shadow Dragon Force!" Sting layered his own dual mode on top of his dragon force.

"Chaos Dragon Mode. Chaos Dragon Force!" Laxus layered his dual mode on top of his dragon force as well. The three rushed towards Acnologia.

"Hm! So you're strong enough to use dual modes and dragon force at will. And to use them together, no less. You guys aren't half bad."

"You say that now, but you won't after we've beaten you!" Sting yelled. "White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" He created thin black and white black strings that stitched through Acnologia and restricted him while also cutting through him.

"I've got him! Go!" Sting yelled.

"Not good enough!" Acnologia yelled. "Apocalypse Dragon's Roar!" He gathered green and black energy in his mouth before releasing it at Sting, who was engulfed by it, and sent flying against the wall, down for the count.

"Too Late!" The others yelled, approaching him from his sides.

"Karma Demon: Iron Shadow God Sword!" Gajeel melded both of his arms together into a giant chainsaw sword wrapped in shadows. He swung downward, hitting the dragon hard and knocking him into the ground.

"Chaos Dragon's Heavenward Battleaxe!" Laxus created a giant double bladed battle axe out of purple lightning and lifted it above his head before slicing downwards, partially cutting through the dragon. He yelled out angrily, slashing them with his claws, making them fall back down to the ground.

"Purgatory Dragon...Sea King Dragon...Cavern Dragon…Gale Dragon...Voltaic Dragon...Ice Dragon...Sand Dragon...Darkness Dragon…" Yury layered all of his magics over his Dragon Force, gaining all different colors of aura.

"Was that...enough?!" Laxus yelled over, he and Gajeel collapsing onto the ground.

"Yes. Perfect timing." he answered.

"Huh? What is that?" he growled, trying to get back up.

"This is something that I created in concept, but never actually tried before. This was how I was going to kill you. The others can layer their dual modes on top of their Dragon Force, but I have 8 different kinds of Dragon Slaying magic. Rather than choose one of the many combinations, I wondered what would happen if I simply combined all eight at once. And that's what I have now. Rainbow Dragon Force."

He was surrounded in a rainbow aura, with his scales now changed to all different colors.

"Now then, Apocalypse Dragon...it's finally time to put you to rest."

"You think you can kill me?! APOCALYPSE DRAGON'S EXTINCTION BREATH!" He released a blast of green and black energy that Yury kept walking towards.

"Rainbow Dragon's Prismatic Roar." He unleashed a rainbow burst of energy that overcame Acnologia's own attack, and completely annihilated him.

"Prismatic Fairy Law." He closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, forming a rainbow sphere, and expanded it outwards. A huge blast of rainbow energy engulfed Acnologia, and he began to be dispersed into light particles, before yelling out and disappearing completely. Yury watched the last ones float up and disappear before sighing and walking back over to the others, deactivating his powers.

"So...It's over at last…" Irene sighed.

"Was it really that easy?" Lucy asked.

"Easy? You saw what happened." Yury said. "I had to use my Rainbow Dragon Force to defeat him."

"But...after all we tried, you were able to beat him by yourself…"

"...While using Dragon Force and layering eight magics on top of it." he clarified again.

"Oh really? Tell me again how that worked." Their eyes all widened before looking over at the throne, seeing Acnologia in his human form, but seemingly with Dragon Force activated.

"How?!" Laxus yelled, still on the ground.

"My death was negated. It's all up to Isabella, really. I guess she didn't want my existence to end yet." he laughed. Yury went on his guard again.

'I'll have to use…'

"GRAAAAGHHHH….." Acnologia yelled, looking down, and seeing a hand through his chest, surprising everyone.

"You...bastard…" He glanced behind him and saw Natsu. "We're...on the same side…"

"On the same side? You've mistaken your position here. You are nothing but a pawn in Isabella's eyes, while I am a knight. You haven't killed a single one of them yet. You're taking too long, and so I've decided to step in." He took his hand out, making the dragon fall over.

"Isabella...will revive me...and when she does…" he coughed out.

"This is the second time you were defeated. She won't revive you." He stomped his foot into his back before engulfing it in flames, burning the apocalypse dragon into a mere pile of ashes.

"Natsu…" Lucy murmured, looking at him with tears in her eyes. His attire was different. He wore black pants and black boots, along with a skin tight black shirt and a red and gold flame patterned jacket. He turned and looked at her for a moment before disappearing in a blaze of fire.

Yury waited for a few moments before realizing that Acnologia would not be revived this time around. He healed the others before they stood up and walked towards the throne.

"Ah, here." Yury found a small, ornate box sitting behind the chair. He opened it to find a bronze key inside.

"It's time. Are you all ready?" he asked. Some of them looked down.

"Look. I know it's tough to accept what happened. But remember that he's under Isabella's control. And the sooner we snap him out of it, the sooner he'll be back to normal."

"Yeah...you're right." Lucy replied.

"Good. Then let's get going." They opened the door behind the throne and continued walking through the hallway before opening a metal barred door with a loud creak, coming out behind the first tower. There was a stone bridge that led northeast towards Takama-ga-hara. They started walking on it, up towards the entrance.

"Natsu…" Lucy murmured, staying a few steps behind the rest of them. Juvia noticed this and hung back with her.

"Lucy…"

"Don't worry about me, Juvia."

"That's what you keep saying, but someone needs to ignore it and talk to you. You're taking this harder than most."

"Do you guys want some time alone?" Silver asked.

"Yes, if you don't mind."

"We'll wait for you at the entrance." They started walking up towards the front.

"Be honest.. How do you feel about this whole thing?"

"I...I can't…" she started bawling, surprising Juvia, prompting the blue-haired water mage to comfort her.

"Hey! What's wrong?!" She soon realized why Lucy was crying, and decided to just stay and hold her until she was done. After about 30 seconds, she calmed down.

"This whole thing has just been…...it's been a lot of things. We've all grown closer with each other, but there's also been many times that I've been terrified...that we've been terrified...I found out that my mother faked her death, and was leading our enemy. That she was polite and humble socially, but in combat she was like a bloodthirsty beast that left bodies in her wake. To learn that she's married to Zeref, and that they had a child together. But none of that could compare to when Natsu…" she broke off.

"Lucy…"

"Juvia...when we defeated Avatar, you found out that Gray joined them to defeat them...but this time...it's my turn, and Natsu...isn't joining them to defeat them!" she sobbed, hugging her.

"Lucy…" she returned the embrace, rubbing her friend's back, before they broke away and Lucy wiped away her tears.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Yes...the sooner I see Natsu normal again, the better off I'll be."

"Heehee...you love him, after all." she smiled.

"...Yes." she finally admitted, blushing with a happy smile. They walked up to the front door before seeing a single panel in the middle of the doors.

"How do you open it?" Lucy asked.

"We don't know. It's a hand imprint, but everyone here has tried, and it hasn't worked." Gray replied. Lucy remained silent before walking forward and placing her hand on it, pushing it in, before the doors slowly opened, again with a large creak.

"How did you do that?" Zeref asked.

"I didn't. I just put my hand on it." They walked through, seeing another hallway lit by candlelight, just like the last. But this time, there was a bright red carpet running through the middle. They continued walking before hearing a voice.

"Go away."

Lucy paused, recognizing it immediately.

"Natsu…" They ran towards the two doors on the opposite end of the hall, and she opened them, running in. They looked up towards the throne, finding Natsu sitting there with a cold and intimidating stare on his face. Everyone walked in, with Lucy at the front.

"You didn't hear me the first time? Fine. But I'll only say it once more, so listen carefully." In the blink of an eye, he stood in front of Lucy and impaled her, shoving his fist straight through her chest, laying his head on her shoulder and talking into her ear.

"Go away."

 **End.**


	22. The Princess' Demon

**Songs**

 **Natsu's Speech: The Truth is Revealed (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Gray vs. Natsu: Screaming God (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Lucy vs. Natsu: Blind Animal (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Lucy and Natsu's Discussion: Never Meant to Belong (Bleach OST)**

 **END: Huge Villain Appearance (My Hero Academia OST)**

 **END vs. Gray: DDD (Yugioh Arc-V OST)**

 **Lucy vs. END: Oceiros, The Consumed King (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Natsu's Return: Happiness-Requiem from the Blind Alchemist (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OST)**

 **Lucy Revived: Here to Stay (Bleach OST)**

"LUCY!" They all screamed as she felt blood pour out of her mouth. Natsu took his hand out of her rather forcefully before walking back up towards his throne.

Silver quickly began healing her with her magic.

"The wound is deep, it won't heal instantly." he said, her hole slowly closing up.

"You bastard! How could you do that to her?!" Gray yelled, running up towards him. Natsu's eyes flashed red for a moment before teleporting in front of him and kicking him back.

"I did it to prove a point. I don't hesitate to hurt her anymore." Lucy looked up at him painfully.

"Natsu…" He remained indifferent. "I want to know...why are you working with my grandmother? Is it just because you're under her control?" He stared at her for a moment before putting his hands behind his back and pacing back and forth.

"Under her control? No, that's not it. Initially, it was. But since coming here, I've come to understand a bit of her philosophy."

"Philosophy? What philosophy? She destroys the world over and over!" Zeref stepped forward.

"Yes, I suppose that would be how you look at it. She watches over this world to make sure that people don't kill each other off. And should they, she resets the world so that the wars will end."

Silver walked forward. "But humans aren't perfect. It's inevitable that we'll get into some kind of conflict. So she's just destroying the world over and over, trying to mold it into her perfect paradise. A dystopia that's at her mercy, yet no one but her knows it."

"Hmph. And who are you to talk? All of you...in some way, shape or form, you all desire a perfect world too, do you not? Alvarez invading was how you were going to have everyone under your control, and get the world that you want. On the other hand, Fairy Tail desires the defeat of Alvarez, and wish to rid the world of Dark Guilds. This is your ideal world."

"Ideal world?" Her wound finished healing, allowing her to sit up again.

"Earthland...no, Earth...everyone that lived there, lives there, and will live there, end up wanting things. It's how everyone's mind works. We all want something to happen, and become upset if we don't get it. It could be something as trivial as not buying something at a store, or something as important as electing a leader whose ideals we don't agree with. Or it could be something monumental, like my betrayal." he said coldly, making Lucy flinch.

"You claim that Isabella is wrong for wanting to create a perfect world, but that's exactly what you wish for as well, Lucy, albeit your own version. In your mind, your mother and father are still alive and in love, while Alvarez never invaded, and I never left. Who knows, maybe we're even in a relationship." he shrugged, making her blush slightly.

"But...that's different." she said, stepping forward. "Wanting something and getting it are two different worlds in themselves. Yes, I wish that Mom was still with my father. Yes, I wish that Alvarez never invaded. And yes, I wish that you never left, and that we were...in love…" His eyes narrowed.

"But those things...though I want them to be true, they're not. She is in love with Zeref. Alvarez did invade. And you left. And I dealt with it. I didn't change anything like Isabella's doing. Do you know what she's doing? She's running away from her problems rather than trying to sort them out!"

"...! How dare you…?! You would dare insult her?! She is our God!"

"Listen to yourself, Natsu! You're not you anymore...following orders and living under someone's boot heel? The old you would defy that god and send them flying away."

"...I'm afraid that's impossible. I've talked for long enough." He ignited both of his fists with flames. "It's time for me to end you all."

'No!' She ran towards him without thinking, as he got ready to launch a blast of fire towards them all. She threw her arms around his neck, lifting her feet off the ground.

"Hrghhh! Get off of me!" he growled. She started glowing golden before dispersing into particles that seemed to be absorbed by him, surprising everyone.

Natsu's expression remained startled for a few seconds before going back to his cold stare.

"Well, are you ready?"

"What happened to Lucy?! What did you do?!" Gray yelled, rushing towards him.

"I did not do anything. But now I don't have to worry about her." He swiped his hand through the air, creating a wall of flames that blocked out the rest of the fighters, leaving only him and Gray to fight it out.

"Ice Make: Lance." Gray created an ice magic circle, and formed an ice lance, taking a stance against Natsu.

"Hm." He encased his fist in flames again, ready to fight and defeat his rival.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy blasted a tornado of wind through the wall of flames, but it just formed back up again.

"Water Nebula!" Juvia created a large area of water that splashed upon the flames, extinguishing them for a mere second before they formed back again.

"Nothing's working...these flames are made to form back together." Victoria pointed out.

"Do you think one of us could run in if another douses the flames?" Jellal asked.

"No. They reform too quickly. And there's no guarantee that the flames won't attack you to prevent you from entering anyway. All we can do is wait until they die down."

 **X**

"...Huh? What happened…? Where...am I?" Lucy sat up slowly, looking around. There was nothing. Nothing but darkness, except for herself, which she could see clearly. She stood up and looked around, seeing a light far in the distance. She started running towards it, slowing down when she came closer.

"N-Natsu…" she whispered, seeing him standing across from her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. She flinched. He was still under her control from the tone of his voice.

"What...is this place?"

"This is inside my mind. How did you get here?"

"I...don't know. All I did was run up to you and then the next thing I knew, I woke up here."

"I see...you really do have strong feelings for me, after all."

"Wh-What do you mean?" she blushed.

"It is possible, but extremely difficult to enter someone's mind to speak with their inner consciousness. But it seems that you did so through willpower alone. Perhaps it was because of your feelings towards me." He turned to face her. "Well? Come on then."

"W-What?! I'm not going to fight you!"

"...That's too bad." He rushed towards her, before the strike was blocked by Leo.

"Loke!"

"Watch yourself, Lucy. This isn't the time to get sentimental. Refuse to fight and you'll get killed." he warned. She looked at Natsu sadly, noticing that there was no emotion in his eyes.

'He's right. Natsu is no longer himself, and he has no problem ripping me apart.' Just the thought made her shudder. She calmed herself, inhaling and exhaling, before looking at him with a determined look on her face. Loke's eyes widened somewhat before narrowing, going back to his world.

"Star Dress: Leo Form!" Her black dress formed around her. "Regulus!" She gathered light magic into her hand, making a fist.

"Oh? Maybe you do have some fighting spirit after all. But it won't be enough to beat me." He clapped his hands twice, making the darkness go away, and revealing a long earthy arena.

"Let's begin." The two rushed at each other, punching their fists together. Neither one of them budged an inch.

"I can match you...don't underestimate me."

"You, match me? Isn't this one of your stronger spells? To have to go in this form to keep up, even though I haven't transformed yet...you are not equal to me." He closed his hand around her fist, pulling her in close to him before smashing his knee into her stomach, knocking blood out of her mouth. He tossed her away, making her land on the ground.

"Well? Having second thoughts?" She sat up, coughing.

"No." She ran towards him again.

"Fine. Your funeral."

 **X**

"Ice Make: Sword!" Gray switched up his weapon, going after Natsu again. Despite how fast and fiercely he slashed, Natsu was still able to avoid each strike with little effort.

"This is getting tiring." Natsu sighed. He caught the blade on the next strike, and shattered it, using his other hand to grab Gray by the throat and start crushing the wind out of him.

"Well, you've used yours, so I'll use mine. Fire Dragon's Claw." He impaled Gray with his hand, engulfed in flames, before tossing his limp body down onto the ground.

"Well, so much for…." Natsu looked at the body, before it crumbled away into ice.

'A clone…?!' Before he could turn around all the way, the real Gray tossed his ice sword towards Natsu, impaling him through the stomach. He ran up to him and delivered a flurry of punches, knocking the dragon slayer onto his back, making him land on the sword's point, forcefully removing it from him, making him cough up blood.

"Why, you…!" He stood up again. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" He blasted a huge burst of flames from his mouth and towards Gray.

'That's way bigger than normal!'

"Ice Devil's Rage!" The two blasts collided, blowing up.

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword!" Gray sped past him and sliced with a purple rapier made of ice.

"...Enough…." Natsu growled. "Lightning Fire Dragon Mode!" His body became engulfed in fire and electrified, turning back to Gray.

"So...it's come to this…" Gray allowed his Devil Slayer markings to cover his arms and part of his face.

"So it has...We both knew this day was coming...where we fight for real…"

"Yeah…"

"I'm going to win...and you're going to die. Lightning Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He charged up fire and electricity around his fist, rushing towards Gray.

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fists!" Gray formed ice gauntlets around his fists, preparing himself for the clash.

 **X**

"Star Dress: Taurus Form! Earth Wave!" She switched forms and took out her whip, lashing at the ground, shattering a large portion of it. Natsu jumped around to and from each collapsing pillar, trying to get closer to her.

"Lucy Punch!" She channeled Taurus' power into her fist and jumped across them as well, slamming her fist into his stomach, knocking him up into the air.

"Lucy Kick!" She jumped up and kicked him in the same place, knocking him back down. Natsu held his hand out towards the ground before making a fist, restoring it to its normal state.

'Since when can he do that?!'

"That was not magic." He said, landing. "This is my inner psyche, so I can control everything here." Lucy fell back down onto the ground too, across from him.

"Lightning Fire Dragon Mode!" He activated his dual mode, surprising Lucy.

'If I touch him now, I'll get electrocuted...I'll have to switch to long range.'

"Star Dress: Scorpio Form." She switched outfits again, taking on Scorpio's powers.

"Lightning Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" He charged up lightning on his left hand, and fire on his right hand, launching them in a huge explosion towards the girl. But when the smoke cleared, there was no one there. In fact, Lucy was up in the sky, far above him.

'How did she get up there so fast?!' He whirled around, seeing her up in midair.

"Star Dress: Sagittarius Form! Star Shot!" She switched outfits again, taking on Sagittarius' powers. She drew multiple arrows in her bow, firing them off towards him.

"Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu blasted fire and lightning towards the arrows, incinerating them and causing them to explode. "Not enough! Lightning Fire Dragon's Firing Hammer!" He covered his arm in fire and lightning, and released it into a huge blast towards Lucy again. This time, she couldn't dodge it, and was burned and shocked, crying out in pain before falling towards the ground, hitting it hard on impact. Natsu fell down towards her, standing over her, and looking down. He got down on one knee, putting his face close to hers. Lucy opened her eyes slowly, looking right into his.

"Join me, Lucy. Come over to our side, and you can have your wishes granted. We can be in love…"

"I...I don't want to be in love with you here...I want to be in love with you back home…"

"Well, I'm afraid that can't happen. After all, I must remain up here as one of your grandmother's soldiers."

"Natsu...I know that this isn't really how you feel...you're under her spell."

"Yes. But it's better this way. You of all people should know that it's impossible to defeat Isabella. And what will happen if you do free me? We fight her? We'd die in the process, and what good what that do us?" She remained silent.

" _My role in this war is a failsafe, in case Isabella went rogue. Since it's actually impossible to destroy Chaos, the only way to beat her is to separate the two of them, and bring her original personality back. And the only way to do that is to have someone who has a powerful psychological hold or connection with her."_

'It may be a different opponent, but the concept should still work...I hope…' She bent in towards him and pressed her lips to his, surprising him. Oddly enough, he didn't back away or stop her. When they broke apart, she smiled at him.

"Well, Natsu? Was that enough to stop you?" He remained still for a moment before a column of purple magic power surrounded him, and seemingly left him. He fell onto his knees, prompting Lucy to run up to him and hug him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah...don't worry, it's really me…" He laid his head on her shoulder. She sobbed, beginning to cry and holding him tighter.

"...How did you do that?"

"...How did I kiss you?" she asked blankly.

"No! How did you break her hold?"

"Grandma Victoria said that she was going to fight my grandmother because she had a psychological connection with her. I figured that I could do the same to you to try and bring you back…"

"My body hasn't changed, though...you only freed my mind. You'll still have to fight me out there."

"I see…" They finally broke away, and Natsu fell over into her lap, crying.

"Lucy...I don't deserve you…" he sobbed.

"What do you mean?"

"I tried to kill everyone...Erza, Gray, Laxus, Mira...I even ran you through your chest...I don't deserve your love…"

"Natsu…You were under her control. I don't blame you for those instances…"

"But it wasn't just her. I'm a demon, the most powerful one. And that wasn't her work. Do you really want to bother spending time with someone like me?"

"Natsu. Look at me." She lifted his head up. "I love you for you. Even though you're END, you didn't choose that. It's not a choice that you made. You and your family were broken apart, and you were revived as a demon. Anything you did after that was on you, and you made a positive impact on everyone, especially me." She kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. They broke away again.

"Lucy...thank you...I love you too." he kissed her again.

"Now...how do I get out of here?" she asked.

"I don't know, considering that you're not sure how you got in here."

"I just ran to you, wanting to stop you from attacking. And so I ended up here."

"Then it must have been from sheer willpower. You need to have that same mindset exiting."

"Alright. I'll try."

 **X**

Gray and Natsu had just been fighting each other blow for blow.

"Ice Devil's Rage!" He blasted more ice towards him.

"This has gone on long enough. Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade!" Natsu launched a spiral of lightning and flames towards him, easily overpowering the spell, and injuring Gray. His gauntlets shattered. Natsu threw off his coat and shirt, and began transforming into his Etherious form. His pupils turned into slits, and his eyes turned red in color. Horns grew out of his head, and his teeth formed into fangs. Devil Slayer-like marks appeared around his arms and face, and red scales formed around his eyes. Red wings grew out of his back, and his hands and feet grew into claws, destroying his shoes.

"Ice Devil's...Zeroth Destruction Bow!" Gray formed a purple ice bow and fired a powerful arrow towards Natsu. The pink haired Demon remained indifferent, slowly raising a hand and catching it, shattering it with his fist.

"My...strongest spell…" Gray muttered.

"Broken...just like your body." Natsu appeared in front of him in an instant, before clawing through him. He grabbed him and tossed him up into the air. As he fell back down, Natsu kicked him away, making a bloody streak across the floor.

"Fire Demon's Fury." He stepped on top of Gray and opened his mouth, preparing to unleash a blazing inferno on him.

"Ice Devil's...Zeroth Long Sword!'" Gray stabbed Natsu through his chest with his rapier, stopping him. Gray gasped for air, hoping that his attack did something. Natsu's eyes narrowed as the blade shattered, with no visible wounds.

"What…?"

"It seems that there's something about us demons that you don't understand. You see, elemental demons can only be harmed by Devil Slayers of their own element. So even if we had fought before now, you wouldn't be able to hurt me at all."

"But...the Devil Slayer of Fire is Layla!"

"Exactly. Fire Demon's Blazing Stomp." He raised his leg above Gray's head, ready to stomp down.

"It looks like...this is it…" Gray cursed.

"Yes….?! Grgh!" He stepped back, holding his head. "What's...happening to me?!" he yelled, swaying around, and yelling. A flurry of gold particles began swirling around between the two of them, beginning to form a body. Before long, Lucy stood there, surprising Gray.

"You...what have you done to me?!" Natsu yelled at her. Her eyes widened, seeing him in his Etherious form again.

'No...don't get scared...don't get scared...not like last time…' She told herself, taking deep breaths.

"I turned you back to normal. It's only a matter of time before your body follows suit with your mind."

"I'll make sure you don't live to see it." he snarled.

"Star Dress: Cancer Form!" She transformed again, wearing a short kimono, and holding two long blades backhanded.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You are somewhat skilled with blades now, aren't you?" She still didn't say anything. "What's wrong, Lucy? Afraid?"

"...No. I just have nothing to say to you. When Natsu wakes up, then I'll speak."

"I see. What a shame." He rushed towards her faster than she could react to, punching her back.

"Lucy! No!" Gray yelled, noticing that she was heading straight towards the wall of flames.

"Aries Form!" She quickly switched outfits again, and created wool barricades to bounce against before she fell into the fire. She switched back into Cancer form and sliced both of her blades in an X-shape, cutting Natsu. But once again, there was no damage, and he was unfazed.

"Lucy! It doesn't work!" Gray yelled.

"Be quiet! Fire Demon's Fury!" He unleashed a blast of fire from his mouth, exploding when it hit Gray.

"GRAY!" Lucy screamed. She ran over to him, seeing burn marks on his body, and other heavy wounds. But he was still breathing. She sighed in relief.

"We'll fix you right up after this is over. I promise." She stood up again and turned towards Natsu.

'It doesn't matter if my attacks are ineffective...I just need to wait long enough until Isabella's spell wears off. But his attacks are still extremely powerful. He'll kill me if I get hit...I'm just buying time at this point.'

"Lucy."

"Huh? Loke?" she asked, seeing him standing beside her.

"The King wants to talk to you."

"Now?! I'm kind of busy here!"

"I'll fight him in the meantime! Just go, it's important!" He opened up a portal and shoved her through it.

 **X**

"Ah, Lucy." he said immediately as she appeared right in front of him.

"Ah, sir! Why did you call me here? I'm in the middle of-"

"Yes, we know. Listen, time goes by faster here, so we don't have that much of it. I'm going to help you out."

"You...are?! Great! But...will I have to sacrifice another spirit to summon you?" she asked, getting sad.

"No. Here. This is a special key to summon me. You can use it." He handed her a shining, ornate golden key that she took.

"How funny...the last person to have this was your mother before she returned it." he laughed.

"R-Really…?" she asked, examining it.

"Yes, but its power is limited. You can only summon me once a week, anytime, but only once. However, you are free to use my version of Star Dress whenever you wish."

"Wow…"

"This is to protect you against your friend Natsu. The attacks won't hurt him that much due to his nature, but the armor should provide a good defense to buy you time until he goes back to normal."

"Thank you so much!"

"Don't worry about it. Now hurry!"

"Yes!" She ran back through the portal before it closed.

 **X**

When she came back in, there was an entirely different scene laid out before her. Natsu's wall of flames had been extinguished, but everyone was lying on the floor, defeated, even Yury and Victoria. She gasped, looking over at the throne, where Natsu sat, still in his END form.

"Ah. There you are." he said.

"What happened…?"

"You went to the Celestial Spirit World. Have you forgotten how much faster time moves here?"

"But I was only there for five minutes!"

"And it's been hours here. Don't worry, your friends are all still alive. I want you to see the moment that I kill each of them."

'Why is he still like this? If it's been hours since then, so why is he still under her control? Should I go back in? No...there's no time...and I don't know if it will work again.'

"I'm not under her control anymore." he answered, seemingly reading her thoughts. "This is a spell from my book, the book of END. It enhances my powers and personality." His eyes began glowing red, and his fangs grew sharper, horns longer, and wings bigger. He let out a thundering roar that didn't just scream anger, but pain as well.

"Natsu…" she whispered. As he turned around, his eyes went back to normal for a few moments.

"Lucy...help...GRAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" His bloodthirsty personality came back quickly.

'He's hurt...he doesn't want to do this…' She felt tears running down her cheek, before wiping them away. She took out her new key and held it out.

"Star Dress: Spirit King Form!" She felt herself being enveloped by golden light, and then it dispersed. Her new outfit was reminiscent of the king's, a long dark blue trench coat with a green and gold sash going from her neck down to her lower legs. Underneath was a full set of bright titanium armor, decorated with stars on her gauntlets and boots. In her right hand was a longsword with slightly jagged edges, a green crossguard with a star shaped emblem over it, and a large star at the hilt. Her hair was tied into a long ponytail, kept together by a star-shaped ornament. **[If you want to see the fanart I based this off of, go here:** **/page/anime/2493119/star-dress-celestial-spirit-king-form** **]**

'Lucy.' She heard the king in her mind. 'In this form, you'll gain my abilities of flight and sword magic. Sorry if the sword is heavy.'

'Don't worry about it. I'll just have to practice more when we're done here.' She held it at a downward angle, preparing to fight. Natsu sped towards her and attacked, but she jumped backwards, floating high above him.

'Flight, huh?' He flew after her using her own wings.

"Fire Demon's Fury!" He launched a powerful burst of fire out of his mouth. She lifted the sword above her with both hands and swung downwards, cutting his spell in half.

'She's strong enough to do that?! Impossible…' She flew towards him and sliced him in half, or at least she thought. No damage was dealt to him. She looked back, nodding to herself.

'I guess I don't have to worry about doing irreversible damage then.'

"Fire Demon's Flame Wave!" He created flames on both hands and fired them together, creating a huge wave of fire.

"Meteor Blade!" Lucy swung her sword behind her head and then forward, launching a powerful dark blue blast of energy at his attack, the two clashing and exploding, cancelling each other out. He growled and flew towards her again.

"Fire Demon's Claw!" He swiped at her with his feet this time, fire streaming off both of them. She dodged them and sliced her sword upward in a slash that would have cut him in half, but again, did no damage. He knocked her back with a punch, and sliced the right side of her face, creating three slash marks that started bleeding profusely.

'Ugh...I have to do this quick...or I'll die from loss of blood…' She flew at him and started slashing as fast as she could, knocking him back each time, even though he blocked them.

"Meteor Blade!" She launched another wave of energy at him, knocking him downwards into the floor. She flew down towards him again, but he jumped up and sliced through her stomach, making her drop her sword and collapse.

"Your new power is certainly impressive...but as I said to Gray, only your mother has the power to harm me."

Lucy felt blood draining from her mouth, face, and stomach, and her consciousness had begun to fade.

'No...I have to…' She slowly reached out and grabbed her blade and forced herself to stand up. She held it above her head with both hands, and muttered a chant.

"Let the...88 stars of the heavens...shine now...Starlight Dreams...Galaxia...Blade…!" As soon as she finished, her powers left her, and she fell forward unconscious, in a pool of blood. Above the tower, the clouds parted, and a pillar of light shot towards Natsu, breaking through the ceiling and engulfing him, making him yell out. Before long, he was turned to stone. After a few minutes, the statue began to crack, and he broke out of it, in his normal form again.

"Did that move dispel my curse…?" he asked himself, before noticing Lucy.

"LUCY!" He rushed over to her and picked her up in his arms. "LUCY, WAKE UP! LUCY!"

"Natsu...you're so loud…" she gasped.

"Lucy! Don't worry, one of the others will-!"

"No...they can't heal damage as extensive as this...and not quick enough...half of my face was sliced, and my stomach was ripped open...I can...barely breathe…"

"Lucy...don't leave me…"

"I'm...sorry...Natsu...I wanted us to…" Her body became limp, and her eyes closed, with Natsu left holding her lifeless body.

"Lucy...no...I did this…" he sobbed, looking at her. Her face...her torso...her mouth...everywhere he looked, she was heavily injured…He laid her body down and stepped away, looking at the blood on his hands.

"...EREBUS! YOU BASTARD!" he screamed.

 **X**

"You overdid it."

"Did I?"

"Yes. I don't want Lucy dead."

"Could have fooled me."

"Your habit of interfering in fights just to make them bloodier is very unpleasant."

"Again, could have fooled me. You've killed more people than I ever have."

"But the difference between us is that I do it quickly. I don't take advantage of someone's mind just to implant the idea of destroying everything in sight."

"Your control wore off. What did you want me to do, leave him alone? I thought you wanted him on our side."

"Not at the cost of Lucy. I'll deal with you later." She walked out of the room and back into her throne room, Valhalla. Once sitting down again, she clapped her hands, creating a small purple aura around them.

 **X**

Lucy's body began to lift up into the air, becoming surrounded in the purple light.

"Lucy…?" Natsu turned around and watched her wounds heal and close up, looking normal again. The light disappeared and she slowly floated towards the ground again, Natsu running up to her and catching her in his arms.

"Mmh...Natsu…?" she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes.

"Lucy!"

"What...happened…?"

"I don't know...maybe Isabella brought you back to life."

"...I see." He smiled at her and bent down, kissing her passionately.

"N-Natsu…" she moaned, melting into it. The two broke away and smiled at each other.

"Natsu...I love you...I want us to start a family…" she smiled.

"...That escalated quickly." he said plainly, making her face go beet red.

"Sh-Shut up…" He laughed and smiled back at her.

"Me too, Lucy…Me too." He helped her sit up and she hugged him.

"...Ah! The others!" They got up and walked over to them. Victoria sat up slowly.

"Oh...you won." She shook her head, standing up.

"Yeah...sorry about that…" Natsu apologized.

"We'll discuss it once everyone's up. Holy God's Healing." She started healing the others, bringing them back to full health and waking them.

"You're back to normal?" Gray asked.

"Yes…"

"Good." He walked up to him and punched him across the room, surprising the others. "Now tell us what happened! You were out of control!" he yelled.

Natsu didn't fight back, he just looked down, ashamed, before standing back up. Everyone seemed pretty disappointed with him. He took a deep breath and began explaining.

"Inside my body are two different 'seeds', the last stage of each of my powers. One of them represents the dormant dragonification process, and the other represents my Etherious form, my demonic powers. When I first fought Zeref, my Demon Seed began to grow, but Brandish shrunk it back down. But then she returned it to full size again. And my personality started to shift when I fought Dimaria and thought Lucy was dead. That's when you and I fought."

"But then you saw me alive, and it went away...until you were in a coma." she said, remembering when they were in the ruins.

"Yeah. And for a while I was fine, until Isabella showed up and recited the spell to release my powers again. And we came up here."

"And we fought, but then I went inside your mind and freed you from her control. Or so I thought…" Lucy said, concerned.

"Yeah...When you came back out, I could feel her spell beginning to wear off...and once you left for the Celestial Spirit World, it was gone. But then Erebus took control of my mind and made my personality worse. And that's how we ended up here."

"I see…" Gray looked down.

'...I'm really glad Erebus isn't my family's God.' Lucy thought to herself.

"And so...I need to teach him a lesson." Natsu growled.

"All in good time, but for now, we need to prepare for Layla." Zeref said, walking up to the throne and opening the box behind it, taking the second key.

"There goes my good mood…" Lucy mumbled, looking down.

"Lucy. You know we have to do this. And the sooner we free her, the sooner your good mood will be back." Natsu put his arm around her, making her smile again. After making sure they were all okay, they opened the doors behind the throne, and found themselves at another upwards stone bridge, leading towards Eden, the third tower. They walked up, and to the front door, where they inserted the key into a two part lock. The first part was two semi-circular black bars, which moved apart to reveal another hand imprint lock.

"...Whose hand works this time?" Irene asked.

"It's mine. I'm sure of it." Zeref walked forward and placed his hand on it, causing the large metal doors to open, leading to a dark blue hall. They walked through, and opened the doors at the back, arriving in another throne room.

"Ah. Welcome." Layla greeted from atop her seat.

 **End.**


	23. Night Goddess

**I'm really happy I decided to go ahead with the Olympus Arc, instead of sticking through with the manga, because chapter 536 was absolute bullshit. Even more than the Irene fight, because this one literally made no sense, and ended terribly. As soon as Zeref got Fairy Heart and impaled Natsu, I was thrilled, the hype was great. Lucy brings him back through the book, okay. But now, with Zeref having supposedly the strongest magic, he ends up getting one-shotted by Natsu just because of another friendship speech. BULLSHIT. Acnologia gets knocked into the portal by Ichiya and Anna? Also bullshit. At least the two of them did die for real, but honestly, why introduce Anna if she was only going to go out like this? And the fact that the Timelapse still worked, they just needed to slam into him? That's exactly what we didn't want to happen in the first place. These two were the two main villains of the entire series, and they got completely trashed. There's 10 chapters left, but at this point, it doesn't really seem worth it to bring them back, because they'll be defeated again, perhaps in a more infuriating way. The fact that this is how Acnologia went out means that the entire 400 Year Plan wasn't really worth shit. The whole point was to send those five into the future to help defeat him, but none of them ended up fighting him anyways, and Anna was the one who ended up taking him out in the end.** **Natsu's one shot makes no sense, as Zeref spent over 100 years trying to get Fairy Heart, now has it, but is taken out by Natsu, who wasn't even in a dual mode, or END form, or anything! Absolutely terrible. If the anime ever does come back, I hope they'll rewrite it differently to correct Mashima's many mistakes.** **Here's the Layla fight. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Layla vs. Yury Beginning: Dojigiri Ezel (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Rainbow Dragon Force vs. Fire Devil Slayer: Vs. Xemnas (Kingdom Hearts II OST)**

 **Satan Soul Lucifer: The Queen of Hell (Dante's Inferno OST)**

 **Light God Magic vs. Satan Soul Lucifer: L'Oscurita dell'Ignoto (Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance OST)**

 **Layla's God Soul: L'lmpeto Oscuro (Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance OST)**

 **Layla God Soul vs. Everyone: One-Winged Angel [Long Version] (Final Fantasy VII Advent Children OST)**

 **Studentsvs. Master: Naruto vs. Sasuke Part 2 Theme (Naruto Storm 4 OST)**

 **Layla's Defeat & Aftermath: Kingdom Hearts III Dearly Beloved Concept (Sam Yung)**

 **Explaining Gods: Main Menu Theme (Bloodborne OST)**

"Mom…" Lucy muttered, looking up at the beautiful woman sitting in the throne. She was wearing a deep purple gown, and left her hair down.

"...How long will it take?" she asked herself, tapping her finger on her lip. "...30 minutes. At most." Her eyes flashed purple before time stopped, and only herself and Natsu were still moving.

"What...what the hell have you done?!" he yelled up at her, trying to get the attention of his comrades, who were not reacting. As soon as he turned back to her, he was quickly pierced by multiple purple beams of light, all throughout his torso.

"Gah…" he spit blood, looking back up at her, with a single finger extended, and a look of no emotion whatsoever on her face. Her eyes flashed again, making everything go back to normal. Natsu fell over, fatally injured, shocking the others.

"What have you done?!" Lucy screamed, bending down to tend to him.

"I believed he would have been one of the most problematic. So I eliminated him before he could start fighting." As soon as she finished talking, Yury appeared right behind her and tried to fire a beam through the back of her throne to pierce her heart, but she reached her hand around and caught his wrist, stopping him. Yury's eyes narrowed as her own purple ones looked straight into his. He dispersed into light particles, making her sigh and return to her previous sitting position.

'A clone, huh?'

"She's still heavily under Isabella's influence. Her eyes are still the same color as her mother's." He informed the others, before healing Natsu.

"How many times have we fought?" she asked suddenly, prompting him to turn back to her. "I lost count after 75. It took me 13 years to defeat you, and even then, we still didn't go all out on each other. Want to go again?"

"..." He stepped forward, and Layla clapped her hands, creating a thick glass wall that spanned across the walls, separating him from the rest of them.

"Before you try, that wall is unbreakable, even though it's glass. You'll just hurt yourselves trying to punch through."

"No...I prefer that they stay out of this...you're right that we've never gone all out on each other. And this is the perfect opportunity."

"Yury, she's mine! Don't interfere-!"

"Zeref. I'm sorry, but this is a fight that I have to participate in. Should I lose, she's all yours." he said confidently, yellow magic power surging around him. Layla remained seated, but her own purple magic power began to surround her.

"Death Orb." She created a black sphere in her hand and threw it towards him. He caught it with his own and crushed it.

"Layla. If we use Ankhseram Magic, we won't get anywhere. Come on, get serious."

"...Very well then." She stood up. "Black Heavenly Body Magic." She performed Vera's previous action of layering her Ankhseram Magic over her Heavenly Body Magic, giving her a gold and black aura.

Yury infused his Ankhseram magic into his lightning, surrounding him in black electricity. The two stared at each other before disappearing in a flash of light.

"Where-?!" Lucy looked around, trying to find the two. Small shockwaves started throughout the room, strong enough to blow some of the force against the wall, not breaking it of course, but somewhat felt by the others. They looked up to see quick bursts of energy throughout the room, only lasting for an instant each.

"There's no way...they're that fast…?!" she gasped.

"She's faster than I am when I use it…" Vera muttered.

Yury and Layla continued clashing, jumping from wall to wall and punching and kicking each other each time they did.

"They're...fighting to kill each other." Zeref said, prompting the others to look at him.

"Fighting to kill…? He can't kill her! He can't!" Lucy yelled.

"If he wasn't fighting this way, he would be defeated quite easily. The last time these two fought, they were not fighting like this. They did it more as a friendly competition, and each had trouble. But...neither one used their God Souls in the end. They were both exhausted and injured. They had used up enough magic power to last a normal mage months. But they still hadn't gone all out on each other. Yury named Layla the winner, but to this day, I still am not sure which of them is the stronger."

'This won't get me anywhere either.' Yury cursed, jumping back down to the ground and dispersing his electricity, confusing Layla, who also landed back down.

"What are we doing now?"

"We're not going to hold back on each other. Rainbow Dragon Force!" He activated his dragon force, forming scales on his face and arms, and using all of his dragon slaying magics at once.

"Oh! That's new. Very well then." She produced dark blue flames from her hands, and spread it onto the floor, a wall of them now behind her, adding to her black magic power.

" _What...is this energy…? It's dark...cold...full of rage and despair...It's like I'm sensing the devil…"_

" _That...is your mother's magic power."_

'Back then, it intimidated me even though I was far away from it...but being up close...there's no comparison...her magic power's ferocious…' Lucy couldn't stop shaking, being so close to the strongest of the Five Gods of Alakitasia.

"Calm down, I'm right here for you." Victoria put her arm on her shoulder, comforting her.

"But...don't you feel it? The anger...the sadness...it's not just overwhelming...it's also painful to feel…"

"Ice Dragon's Crystal Storm!" Yury swiped his arms downward, making multiple light blue icicles crash up from the ground. Layla quickly maneuvered her away around all of them, not getting hit by a single one.

"Fire Devil's Mutilation!" she tore through him with an ignited claw before spinning around and using Fire Devil's Rage.

"Hrgh...Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!" He unleashed a torrent of water from his hands, overpowering her own spell and getting her wet. He quickly healed himself.

"Oh...look what you did…" she pouted. "Now I'm soaked. Hold on a second." She switched dimensions again and ripped apart her clothes, shaking her body back and forth a few times to remove the remaining water, and then heating it up with her magic, getting rid of the damp feeling. She requipped into her usual black gown and cape, and burned her old wet purple gown and undergarments, then switching dimensions back.

"There. That's better." she sighed, patting down her new outfit. "My favorite color." she smiled.

"Too bad for you, I'm going to ruin this set as well. Rainbow Dragon's Prismatic Roar!" He unleashed a rainbow colored beam of light towards her. Her eyes widened before she jumped out of the way, the attack continuing and hitting the glass wall, cracking it. Natsu wasted no time in running up to it and punching through it, shattering the whole thing.

"Impressive! You managed to break it. That's some remarkable power." she complimented, raising her own output of magic power again, as did Yury.

"Stay here. Don't interfere until there's a clear winner." Irene advised, stepping forward. "When they get like this, there's no stopping them. Enter the fight, and you'll just get in their way. Get in their way, and you die." she warned, scaring the others.

"Fire Devil's Scorching Sword." She summoned a rapier engulfed in blue flames that she swung back and forth.

"Light God's Blade." Yury formed his own sword and rushed up to her, starting to slash, while she blocked it with her own, and retaliating. The two continued their fencing match, but Layla got the upper hand, and cut Yury across the front, knocking him out of his Dragon Force state.

'Damn...I overestimated the duration of this form...I guess I must have used up most of its magic power against Acnologia…'

"Light God's Apollo." He infused his God Slaying Magic into his God Magic, making black light.

"Light God's Baldr!" His blade absorbed the black light, making his strikes stronger and faster. Layla now went on the defensive, continuing to block the attacks, but getting pushed back.

"Light God's Belisama!" He gripped his sword with both hands, transforming it into its golden greatsword form. His attacks were much heavier, knocking Layla across the room.

"Light God's Horus!" His greatsword absorbed the black light, and he teleported above her, slashing downward. She held her rapier above her, trying to block the strike, but as soon as he connected, it split in half, and cut her down half of her body.

"Gah…" she coughed out blood, and fell backwards, heavily injured.

"MOM!" Lucy shrieked.

"Light God's Hyperion…" He powered up his sword to the max, and walked over to her. "It's time that I expel you from her…" He held it over her, before she opened her eyes and fired multiple beams of light through him. This time, Yury fell backwards, dropping his sword, dispersing it. Layla healed herself, slowly sitting up. Yury did the same.

"How much...do you have left?" he gasped.

"...Enough." she responded, standing up.

"Satan Soul: Lucifer." Layla transformed into her demonic form, staring Yury down.

"Damn…" he laughed.

"Remember what happened last time? This was the form that defeated you."

"I'm aware." He stood back up again. "Light God's Hyperion!" He created his strongest sword and swung it at her, but she caught it with a single hand and crushed it.

'She's gotten much stronger than she was last time…' She stepped back and scanned over everyone throughout the room.

"Hmm...Pride." Her eyes flashed dark blue for a moment before a blue pillar of light engulfed Yury.

"Lust." Another blue pillar surrounded Mira.

"Gluttony." Another pillar hit Gildarts.

"Envy." A fourth surrounded Lucy.

"Wrath." A fifth hit Natsu.

"Greed." A sixth hit Zeref.

"Sloth." A seventh and final hit Laxus.

"As for the rest of you…" She unleashed a blast of magic energy that made everyone else pass out instantly.

"Now then...let's begin." she smirked.

"What did you do?" Laxus growled.

"It's a little habit of mine. As I explained to Mirajane before, this form is interpreted as using Take Over on your own soul, and the darker it is, the more powerful you become. It's also believed in legends that you take on the personality of the devil, Lucifer, himself. And so, once I use it, one of my favorite ways to defeat opponents is to choose seven of them to fight, and knock the rest unconscious. The seven that I chose each represent a mortal sin of man." The blue light kept them locked in place.

'What is this? I'm frozen!' Lucy looked around to see the others paralyzed as well. Layla started walking to each one. She stopped in front of Laxus first.

"Sloth. Inaction and laziness. How many times were you around to help Fairy Tail? And what were you doing when you weren't there? As I understand, you were merely traveling for most of the time." She next moved to Zeref, and slid her finger along his chin.

"Greed. Wanting everything to yourself and to go your way. How many people are you willing to sacrifice to achieve Neo Eclipse?" He remained silent as his eyes followed her to Natsu.

"Wrath. As soon as someone angers you, you beat them down with no remorse. And yet you think nothing of it, always assuming that you are the ultimate authority." She walked over to Lucy next and wrapped her arms around her neck, smirking as she talked into her ear.

"Envy. Jealousness of others and the amazing abilities that they're able to use, while you yourself feel powerless to stop the enemy." Lucy gulped and sweated, watching her mother move on to Gildarts.

"Gluttony. It doesn't necessarily have to work in a sense of food. You become drunk on your own power, and deny anyone else the right to take your place." She circled around over to Mira.

"Lust. Perhaps my favorite of all. Using your own charms to make others fall for you and support you, making them worship you like a goddess." She finally came back to Yury, and her smile ceased.

"Pride. The oldest and worst of them all. Overconfidence in your abilities to the point that nothing affects you anymore. But once all of that condescension comes crashing down, you lose faith in yourself entirely." She walked up a few steps before turning around and undoing the magic, making them all fall to their knees.

"Let's put them each to the test and see if I'm right, shall we?" she smiled again.

"You're wrong!" Natsu yelled, activating his dual mode and rushing at her.

"Natsu, wait!" Mira cried out. As soon as he threw a punch at her, his fist was caught, and she extended her nails, slicing across his stomach, making him fall over into a pool of blood.

"NATSU!" Lucy shrieked.

"Satan Soul: Mirajane Seilah!" Mira transformed into one of her new forms, and stared at Layla, activating Macro. She looked back at her, unaffected.

"Satan Soul is an ability based off of demons. And demons cannot be affected by curses." Mira fired a blast of energy towards her, which she deflected by swiping her hand to the side.

"How many times must I say it? You are no match for me. Or need I remind you what happened last time?" Mira's eyes widened, gasping. Her form left her and she stepped back.

"I thought so." She held out her hand towards her and fired a blast of energy, burning her. Her body then crumbled to dust.

'What?! Clone?! Where did she get Dragon's Blood?!' She looked behind her to see Mira in her Alegria form, and got knocked across the room.

"This time is not going to be like last one." she growled.

'I have to remember never to piss off Mira.' Lucy sweated, clearly intimidated by her friend's power.

Mira rushed at Layla and delivered multiple strikes, all of which were dodged.

"Soul Extinctor!" She unleashed a beam of dark energy that Layla grabbed and crushed with her hand.

"Not bad. That tickled a little bit. I guess you've gotten somewhat stronger with this form. But it's still not enough." she taunted, examining her nails.

"Infernal Burst." She created a sphere of black and red energy, and then aiming it at Mira, a huge beam of dark power was unleashed. Despite trying to hold it back, she was overwhelmed and blown back against the wall.

"Mira!" Lucy yelled.

"Chaos Dragon Force!" Laxus entered his highest form and ran up to her, throwing punches. But once again, she dodged them with little effort, and impaled him with her claws.

"Well...that's three down. How disappointing. Is this really all you have?" Gildarts was next, but she caught his punch just like all the others, grabbed his throat, and threw him back against the wall. Zeref was next, and activated his God Soul.

"Oh? Now we're talking. This is the kind of fight that excites me." she grinned, as he used his two black daggers and slashed towards her. She dodged the strikes and then caught the weapons between her fingers, disarming him, and then kicking him back.

"Aren't you going to do something?!" Lucy yelled at Yury.

"I am." he said, gathering power. "And what about yourself? You seem to be frozen in fear." He was right. She didn't want to go in like the others. She would get killed by her own mother.

'I have to do something! Move!' She screamed at herself, taking out her new key and holding it out in front of her.

"Star Dress: Spirit King Form!" she cried out.

"Hm?" Layla looked at her daughter curiously. "Oh my. I haven't seen that form in a long time. Not since I used it. Who would have thought that you can do the same. It's like I'm looking at a younger version of me...although, you and I are almost nothing alike." she laughed.

"Yes...I used to think that I was like you. But...lately, I realized that we're very different. I would never abandon my friends and family. I would never ask my enemies to train me just to gain my power. And I would never kill people without repentance. I need to bring you back, and teach you how to be compassionate!" She flew towards her, preparing to slash her with her sword.

"To teach me how to be compassionate? You think I lack that quality?" She grabbed the sword and channeled fire throughout it, burning Lucy's hand, causing her to drop it. Layla tossed the sword off to the side.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in Fairy Tail right now." She walked towards Lucy, while she kept walking back, away from her.

"Or have you forgotten that I wanted you to stay in Fiore? Had I decided differently, you'd be just like me. You'd be in line for the throne of Empress. But...you already are." she smiled.

"What…?"

"Oh, come now. Don't you remember Nyx's dream? Should something happen to both Zeref and myself, you and Natsu are next in line to the throne. He is Zeref's younger brother, and since I have no siblings, the throne of Empress goes to my first child, you. And should something happen to the both of you, the throne would have gone to his oldest child, August, and to Vera. But he's dead, so she would be the sole ruler. That is the succession currently."

"You knew?" Yury asked her.

"Of course. As I understand, Mavis only learned recently. Poor man." she shook her head, looking over at Zeref.

"In the end, he was nothing but a sacrifice, even in the eyes of his own father." Zeref's eyes narrowed.

"So you knew too."

"...Yes. But not until he was gone." he looked down.

"...At least you redeemed yourself as a father. He had nothing and no one, but Vera has loving parents. You care for her deeply."

"...August was a different case. Mavis could not handle the curse. And I wanted nothing to do with a child of a girl that I couldn't, and never should have, loved. You, on the other hand, were the only woman that I could be able to love. You didn't try to change me. You loved me the way I was. And no one had ever done that before...But still, Vera deserves better than this. It's inevitable that I'm going to die. Even if I survive through this, I plan to have Natsu finish me back in Earthland. Vera needs a parent. And that's you. But she needs you to be yourself. She can't live here, under her grandmother's watch, being a part of a conspiracy to wipe out humanity every few centuries. She needs Layla Heartfilia, not Isabella Heartfilia."

Her eyes softened for a moment before they went back to purple.

"Sorry. But I'm afraid that your plea fell on deaf ears." She walked away towards Yury, who had now turned towards her.

"So then...are you finally ready to do this?"

"Yes. Zeref's right. The Layla that I know is not you. You may look like her and sound like her, but you're just Isabella manipulating her mind. And I can't stand to see my protégé like that. Take Over: God Soul." A huge burst of golden magic power flooded the room, and Yury stood in his strongest form.

"Let's see you try to stop it this time. Light God's Hyperion." He created his strongest sword again and sliced towards Layla. This time, despite swinging one of her claws, she was staggered backwards.

"Grrrrrr…" She fired multiple energy blasts at him, all of which he countered with his own beams of light.

"Right. You've never seen me in this form before. Your Lucifer form is incredibly strong, but it's not quite at the level of a God Soul now, is it?" he started walking towards her slowly.

"Perhaps not. Infernal Burst." She fired her strongest blast at him, which he countered with a beam of his own, and then fired multiple smaller blasts towards her, which she dodged. She rushed towards him and slashed him across his chest, but the wound was healed instantly. Yury healed the others, making them come to, but they couldn't move due to the sheer weight of his magic power.

"Before, when I fought Mavis, I lowered the strength of this form significantly, so I wouldn't knock anyone unconscious by accident. But now...I'm going to use its full power against you." His aura spiked, and he grabbed his sword again, now pointing it towards her. She began charging up Infernal Burst again. He started floating upwards, still keeping the blade aimed at her.

"We need to get out of the way!" Zeref yelled. The others moved back far, with the still unconscious mages.

"What do we do?! There's no way we can move all of them!" Lucy cried out.

"I'll do it! Dark God's Wall!" Zeref yelled, creating a powerful force field around everyone.

"Light God's Amaterasu!" Yury fired off a beam from his sword, his strongest attack.

"Lucifer's Judgement: Infernal Burst!" Layla launched her own beam towards him. The two were somewhat even for a short bit before Yury's attack overcame her own and blew up the entire tower.

"...Oh hey, we're alive." Natsu said, looking around as Zeref's shield disappeared. The towers and castle were in the distance, and they were all where the tower once stood, now a mere pile of rubble. Yury landed on the ground across from them, his God Soul now released. The other mages who were originally unconscious were now waking up, confused as to why Eden was gone. Layla lay in a pile of rubble, her Lucifer form gone. She remained still, her eyes closed, and her clothes shredded, barely covering her. Yury walked towards her slowly.

"And so...it appears that I win."

"No…" she muttered.

"Mm? So you're still conscious." he looked down at her.

"Yury…?" she slowly looked up at him. "What...happened…?"

"Depends...what's the last thing you remember?" he asked.

"...I watched Zeref and Natsu's fight...that's the last thing…"

"I see. Since then, your mother reawakened END, and put him, you, and Acnologia under her control. She's set to destroy Earthland in 6 days, and so we came up here to stop her. Acnologia is dead, and Natsu is in control again."

"...I see…KHHHH!" she gasped, freezing up.

"?! Layla…?" he asked, stepping back.

"Not...yet….." she snarled, her eyes becoming purple again, and being surrounded in a dark purple magic aura. She slowly stood up.

"Tch. She just won't let her go." Yury cursed, stepping back to the others.

" **Take Over: God Soul!** " Layla yelled out, a huge pillar of dark purple energy shooting up into the sky and consuming her.

"You guys all need to use your strongest forms now." Yury warned. "If it took my strongest attack to defeat her Satan Soul, I can only imagine how strong her God Soul is."

"Iron Shadow Dragon Force!" Gajeel combined his dual mode and Dragon Force.

"Dragon Force!" Wendy used her own version.

"White Shadow Dragon Force!" Sting went next.

"Dragon Force!" Rogue followed.

Gildarts' white magic power began to surge around him, as did Jellal's own yellow magic power.

"Requip! Nakagami Armor!"

"Take Over! God Soul!" Irene used her God Soul.

"Water Make!"

Gray's Devil Slaying marks covered his body.

"Take Over: God Soul!" Silver activated his strongest form.

"Take Over: God Soul!" Mavis used her transformation.

"Black Star Dragon Force!"

"Take Over: God Soul!" Zeref used his own.

Natsu went into his Etherious Form.

"Satan Soul: Mirajane Alegria!"

"Chaos Dragon Force!"

"Take Over: God Soul!" Yury reactivated his transformation.

Mystogan allowed his light purple magic power to surge around him.

"Star Dress: Spirit King Form!"

"Lucy! Lend me one of your keys!" Anna asked. She tossed her the one for Leo.

"Star Dress: Leo Form!"

Victoria's own golden and white magic power rushed around the area.

"..." Layla reappeared from the pillar, staring everyone down. Like the others, her clothes were gone, and her body was shaded black, but with loads of dark purple magic power radiating off of her. The markings on her connected to just under her breasts, forming a triple goddess symbol, while her hair stood up on end, flowing with the same purple radiance as before. Her entire face was shaded black, save for her mouth. One of her eyes was invisible, covered in darkness, but the other was still visible. It had changed shape into a circle, but was now glowing the same hue of purple as the rest of her body. She looked at her surroundings slowly.

"...Rather dull for a final battle venue, don't you think?" she asked rhetorically. Without moving a muscle, one of her eyes flashed, and everyone suddenly found themselves back in the throne room.

"She...rebuilt it?!" Erza asked.

"No. Not reconstruction. I simply brought you all to my dimension. The dimension of a Night Goddess. My magic gives me the power to warp reality." She slowly landed on the ground gracefully, the surrounding area disintegrating into a purple void.

"Here, I can do anything I want." Her voice echoed.

'What is this sensation…? I'm trembling...is this what gods feel like…? No...the others felt different...just a huge mass of magic power...this one doesn't feel...of this world…!' Lucy could feel herself shaking.

'This...is her full power…?! We...never stood a chance against her!'

"Lucy. Calm down." Natsu put his hand on her shoulder, reassuring her.

"Nat...su…"

"I'm...afraid too…how could I not be? Her magic power alone is enough to crush us. But you said it yourself. We have to win this. Don't you want your mom back? After all this time? You can't just give up now."

"You're right…"

"No matter how hopeless it is, we have to fight back!"

"Encouraging words, but I'm afraid actions speak louder, and someone like you won't be able to touch me." she said commandingly.

"We'll see about that!" He rushed towards her, his claw extended and on fire.

'As I understand, when they use God Magic, they can't use their other kinds. And since the only thing that hurts me in this form is Fire Devil Slaying Magic, she can't damage me!' He continued and swiped towards her, but it felt as if he hit steel as his hand scraped over her stomach. He didn't make a single scratch on her.

"Damn…" She looked over at him.

"Gods can only be hurt by other God Magics or God Slaying Magics." She slowly extended her arm, pointing at his feet. He paused and looked down before his eyes widened. Some of her magic power was entering into his body as particles.

"You can't do anything about them. Night Magic is the closest thing to Chaos Magic. As such, I cannot rewrite events and change the physical world like my mother, but I am able to change properties of certain magics.

Natsu watched the particles exit his body and return to her.

"Those just changed the defenses of your Etherious Form. I just made it so that God Magics can now hurt you." She tilted her head upwards and shot a beam of light through him from her finger.

"GAH…!"

"NATSU!" Lucy cried out. Layla continued firing beams through him before bringing her other hand back against her side.

"Night Goddess' Bow." She formed her own god's weapon, a purple and black bow made out of her magic power. She drew it back, forming an arrow that she aimed towards Natsu.

"Fire Demon's...Flame Wave…!" Natsu gathered his last bit of strength to create flames on both of his hands. He slammed them together and created a powerful tornado of fire.

Layla fired the arrow right into the attack, easily flying through the flames and piercing right through Natsu's heart, stopping him in his tracks before he collapsed.

"Natsu! Damn it! Darkness God's Twin Daggers!" Zeref formed his two curved daggers before rushing up to her and slicing a few times. This time, she actively dodged them.

"So, you consider these a threat?"

"Of course. Another Envoy in his God Soul using his Spirit Weapons? Those can harm me." He jumped up and kicked her in the face before slashing her across her chest twice. The wounds healed and she kicked him backwards.

"Night Goddess' Bow." She created her Spirit Weapon again and shot multiple arrows at Zeref, which he deflected two of, but then was hit by the third, knocking him out of God Soul and making him fall over.

From behind, Erza and Lucy slashed their weapons towards her, but hit an invisible wall and were knocked away.

Mira and Laxus rushed towards her next, but she caught their attacks and tossed them into each other.

"I've grown tired of this. Night Goddess' Bow." She created her bow again, but this time held it horizontally, multiple arrows forming.

"Spread Shot." She fired off four arrows that impaled Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue, then turned to her left and fired off four more that pierced through Gildarts, Erza, Juvia, and Gray. All eight of them fell over, heavily injured.

"Next." She turned to her right, firing off another four as quickly as she drew them, this time piercing through Irene, Silver, Mavis, and Vera.

"These arrows are too fast to see. You cannot defend against them." She drew three more, firing them at Mira, Laxus, and Mystogan, who were all hit as well, falling onto the ground.

"Only four more. She drew three more arrows that she fired at Lucy, Anna, and Victoria. Despite her holding out her sword in front of her, the arrow shattered through it and penetrated through Lucy's torso, as with the other two.

"And I saved something special up just for you. Night Goddess' Artemis." Her bow gathered more energy into it, transforming it into a larger and more intricately shaped one, the black and purple energy slowly flowing around it. She formed an arrow, only this time much larger, and with much more power infused into it. She fired it towards him, shredding through the air faster than sound, skewering him, his body flying back from the sheer force of the impact, smashing into a large wall of stone.

"...That's everyone…." She sat back down in her throne, propping her elbow up on one of the arms, and leaning her face against her fist.

"Was that really any of you could do? And you wanted to kill me. How foolish."

"Layla...do you remember the song that we wrote for each other…?"

"Mm?" She looked over to where the others were lying, only one of them slowly getting back onto their feet.

"You said...that if either one of us...ever finds ourselves in trouble...to recite these lyrics...and everything will be fine…"

'Lyrics? What song? What is he talking about?' Isabella thought to herself.

" **I'm falling, down into my shadow;**

 **failing to control my breath, as I embrace the deadly night.**

 **If you are scared, never show it in your eyes,**

 **near those pumpkin carriages, 'cause all the witches see right through your lies."**

"! What...is this…?!" Layla's body froze up as Isabella felt her control slipping away. This time, Layla, the real Layla, started singing back some of the lyrics.

" **See you in your dreams, yeah, baby,**

 **I'll still be there, if it's a nightmare;**

 **Fairy Blue for you I'd steal the stars!**

 **And lay them at our feet, so we could own the night,**

 **Black Papermoon; I will be the light believe in me,**

 **when you're lost here I am, forever with your soul;**

 **Look above 'cause you belong up there, beside the shining moon…"**

"Layla...that's right! Fight it!" he encouraged, as she started to force herself to move on her own. Zeref continued.

" **A spell is cast, sweeter than the crimson jam,**

 **taste it and you'll get one wish; so wish for anything you'd like.**

 **Your destiny, make it grand or horrible, grasp it with those hands of yours;**

' **cause you can live your dreams while still awake."**

"What are these lyrics?! What is he doing?!" Isabella yelled.

"These lyrics define us, mother! This song represents our relationship, and lies at the heart of it! You cannot destroy our love for one another, no matter how hard you try!" Layla screamed back, singing more.

" **Don't try to cast a spell on me, you'll never win! You'll never break me!**

 **Fairy Blue the reason I'm alive, the reason I can breathe,**

 **is all because of you, and I'll pull through.**

 **If you reach for me and call my name, I will find you, my dear! Wherever you may be!**

 **Here and now I swear to break your curse, and I will set you free!"**

'She's losing it. This battle is almost over...just a little longer…'

" **It's true without you there were nights I told myself that I could live on in dusk and darkness; but somehow you reach me, it's your voice that calls to me when I fall;**

 **You are my savior! Fairy Blue for you I'd steal the stars, and lay them at your feet;**

 **so they could light a path to guide you home. If you're ever lost and lose your way,**

 **look up! You'll be okay, so wipe those tears away!"**

" **Fairy Blue the reason I'm alive, the reason I can breathe, is 'cause you are the key that sets me free; so I swear you'll never be alone, when you're lost here I am! Forever with your soul! We can make it through if you believe. If you believe in me!"**

'This can't be happening! Damn it!' Zeref fell back against the wall, unable to move anymore.

"One of you has to knock her out of me!" Layla called out, finally in control of body again, if only for a short time. As she said this, Laxus and Mystogan slowly stood back up, gathering their strength.

"Zeref…!" she looked at him fearfully before she yelled out in rage, Isabella's last ditch effort taking control of her mind.

"Laxus!" Zeref called out, extending his arm and transferring his last bit of God Soul Magic to him. The Dragon Slayer activated his Dual Mode, while the black aura swirled around him.

"Mystogan." Yury pushed himself up onto one arm and gave his own God Soul Magic to the Edolas King. He became surrounded in a powerful golden aura.

"It's time to put an end to this." Laxus punched his fists together. Layla summoned her bow and fired two arrows towards them, but they were able to catch both of them and snap them in half.

'Impossible…!'

"I guess this magic really enhances our reflexes." Laxus rushed towards her in a flash of electricity.

"To be fair, we were always speed types." Mystogan bolted after him with a trail of light.

She held her arms out, ready to catch them, but they both landed with their arms on her own before spinning and kicking her back.

'They can hurt me now thanks to those two…I have to finish them now!'

"Night Goddess'-"

"No you don't!" Laxus flew up to her and started punching her across the face, alternating fists and continuously dodging her own strikes.

'Why is he...so much stronger?! So much faster?! I AM GOD! **THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING TO ME!** "

"You still haven't figured it out yet?!" Mystogan rushed up and switched off with Laxus, beginning to attack her with his own punches and kicks.

"You bastards…! I'll kill you-" Her God Soul disappeared, making her gasp. Laxus jumped over again and punched her back.

"You're losing because you no longer have control. Layla has chosen her side, and it's not yours!"

"Perhaps not. But once I kill all of you, she will remain with me. And I have no intention of allowing you to experience life after death." She glared at them.

'Her eyes are still purple…' Mystogan took notice, before activating Meteor and kicking her back again. He jumped up and kicked her in the face three times, landing again and punching her in the stomach.

"How many times must I say it? YOU CANNOT WIN!"

"WATCH US!" they yelled together. Laxus created a sphere of black electricity in his hand, while Mystogan created one of purple light in his own. The two put their hands next to each other's, fusing the two spheres.

"NIGHT GODDESS' BLAST!" Isabella, controlling Layla, fired a simple beam of black and purple energy from both of her hands.

"UNISON RAID! TRUE HEAVENLY GOD MAGIC: BLACK FIREBOLT LASER!" The two of them fired a purple beam of light with black electricity surging around it. The two spells clashed, once again destroying the dimension's throne room, sending them back to the original area of rubble in Olympus.

"As students…"

"It's our duty to surpass our master!" They yelled, adding the rest of their magic power into their attack, making it finally overcome Layla's attack, and wipe out the remaining traces of Isabella's mind control. After the dust settled, the two S-Class disciples stood worn out and breathless, Laxus falling forward and Mystogan backward.

"Finally...it's over…" Layla choked out, as a small lingering bit of black and purple energy left her. She felt the force of the attack as her body was suddenly cut up and burned all over, all of her clothes melting away, and blood going everywhere as she remained hovering only a few feet above the ground. She looked up into the sky briefly, her hair, now tangled and messy, flowing from her neck to in front of her shoulders due to the wind. Her eyes slowly lost their color as a small smile graced her lips, her levitation leaving her as she collapsed forward with a thud as her body hit the ground. No one showed any signs of moving, all of them unconscious….

 **X**

"...Ngh...what happened?" Layla asked drowsily as she woke up, back in the tavern in Avalon. She looked around, the only other person in the room being Zeref, who was sitting at the edge of her bed.

"You're awake." He bent down and kissed her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell…it hurts to even move…"

"I guess Isabella's control did more to you than we thought."

"That's what this is from?"

"Part of it. The other part would be from fighting Yury and your two boys."

"I see...I'm proud of them." she smiled weakly.

"After the fight, I healed myself and Yury, and we brought you and everyone else back down into Avalon. Everyone's been waiting for you to recover. You've been out for two days."

"...Which means we only have four days left." She slowly sat up, the blankets no longer covering her chest.

"I'm clean...my wounds are gone…" she said, lifting up the covers to look at the rest of her body. "So...are the others fine?" she asked.

"Well...most of them, yes." Zeref looked down as Layla stood up and used requip to put on sapphire blue undergarments, gown, cape, and heels. She looked at him curiously.

"I'm afraid that Natsu's wounds were too severe. And he bled out."

"...Where is she?"

"Sitting by the cliff." Layla bent down and kissed him before walking down the stairs, seeing some of the others sitting in the tavern area. They looked at her sadly, not saying a word. She remained silent, walking out and over to the cliff overlooking the two lower cities in the dimension. She saw Lucy sitting with her legs hanging over the edge.

"Lucy…" she sat down next to her, putting her arm around her oldest daughter.

"...I'm sorry."

"It wasn't you….I know it wasn't you…" she sobbed, resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

"...What do you say we go get him back?" she asked.

"Huh?! What do you mean?!"

"Have you forgotten that I was able to revive Silver? I'm a necromancer, I can bring people back to life. Besides, his spirit should already be in Olympus somewhere, his good deeds definitely outweighed the bad. Where is he?"

"Still up at the tower. We covered his body up."

"Well, come on then." She smiled. Lucy hugged her, and walked back up with her. Layla looked around at all the rubble, before finding a white sheet draped over a body. She stood over him and pointed her finger to his corpse, and her other finger into the sky. A black beam fired into his body, while a white one went into the sky. They stood there waiting for a few moments, Lucy clutching her hands against her chest worriedly.

"...It's not working…" Layla mumbled, stopping her spell.

"Why not? Could it be….because he's a creation of Zeref's?"

"No. That's not it." Layla shook her head. "Natsu was a human before being revived. As such, he's a human with his demon powers being secondary. This is something else."

"I don't think his spirit is here." Mystogan said, sitting nearby.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"When Isabella spoke through you, she mentioned that she would not let our spirits revive. She has the power to make Natsu's death permanent. And I suspect that's what she did."

"No...that can't be…" Lucy looked down.

"..." Layla remained still before gasping, throwing her head back suddenly.

"Mom? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Lucy asked. She composed herself again and walked towards Natsu again.

"Layla…?" Mystogan asked, before noticing that her eyes had changed color to purple again. He went on guard immediately, but she held her hand up in defense, assuring him that it was not what she thought. A purple swirl of energy surrounded him, lifting his body up into the air. All of his wounds healed, color flooding back into his face and body. His body was slowly lowered down onto the ground, landing gently. She looked over at Lucy, smiling, before Layla's body once again froze up, and her eye color returned to its usual chocolate brown.

"Was that...grandmother again?" Lucy asked.

"No...that was something different...it felt warm, and loving...that was Nyx."

"What?!" Lucy gasped.

"How odd...I thought that Irene said they were under your mother's control…" Mystogan said.

"Nyx is the oldest, strongest, and most beautiful god. I highly doubt that she's completely overtaken by that mind control spell." Layla panted.

Natsu groaned, slowly opening his eyes.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried happily, running up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What...happened…?" he asked groggily.

"You were dead! But Nyx brought you back to life!" she cried.

"Dead…? Oh! That's right!" He looked over at Layla quickly.

"How…?"

"I halted her control long enough for Laxus and Mystogan to finish me."

"I see…urgh!" He collapsed backwards, Lucy falling forward onto him, yelping.

"What's wrong?" she asked, slowly getting up.

"It hurts…"

"But your wounds are healed." Mystogan pointed out.

"Give him a break, he was just deceased. I imagine coming back to life after taking fatal damage would give him an aftershock." Layla sighed.

"In any case…I'm glad you're alright Lucy." he grinned, pressing her down to him and kissing her.

"Mystogan smiled at them, while Layla walked over to the edge of the platform, looking down.

"Mom? Is something the matter?" Lucy asked, standing back up with Natsu.

"...No. It's nothing. Natsu, watch yourself from now on. That's the only time you'll have a get out of death free card." She said, before slowly walking back down towards the city.

"Y-Yeah…" he rubbed his head. "What's up with her?" he asked Lucy.

"I'm not really sure…" she muttered.

"...Come on, we should go back." Mystogan started walking after her, the other two following closely behind.

 **X**

"Natsu!" Mira yelled happily, running up and hugging him. "You brought him back?" Silver asked, looking at Layla. She nodded silently, her hair covering her face.

"Get ready everyone. It's time to go." she said gloomily.

"Layla." Victoria looked at her intently.

"Grandmother?" she asked.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry about it. We'll get through it." she reassured.

"You say that, but...how could I not worry?" she asked, walking back upstairs.

"What are you guys hiding from us? Spill it." Laxus said.

"I'll explain when we get there. Prepare yourselves." She stood up and went into her own room.

 **X**

They walked back to where Eden used to stand, and went searching through the rubble for the key.

"Ah. Here it is." Zeref moved a piece of stone to find the third and final key. They continued walking upwards on the stone bridge to where Asgard was.

Yury put the first one in, Natsu put the second in, and Laxus the third. The enormous doors slowly opened, and the five envoys stepped forward, releasing their green, blue, black, yellow, and purple magic powers, dispelling the barrier.

"Alright. Now we can enter." Victoria led the group, as the doors closed behind them. At the end of the hall was another set of doors. She held up her hand to stop them.

"It looks like they set up an order for us. The layout of the castle is a bit different. So now's as good a time as any to inform you about the upcoming fights. Listen very carefully, because if you don't follow these instructions to the letter, you will die. And that's a fact." she said darkly, causing everyone to become quiet.

"These last few fights are paltry compared to what's next. In fact, I chose not to participate, because I was saving my magic power for now. Before we get to Isabella, we're going to have to fight the five primordials, the heads of your families."

"So we're going to meet them?" Erza asked. "For real?"

"Yes, but don't get excited until after we win. All five are currently under Isabella's control, and will not hesitate to kill you on sight. Gods and mortals are very different opponents. Acnologia, Natsu, and Layla all have the 'ability' to die. Gods are immortal, and cannot be slain."

"That's ridiculous. I killed a God before, the one that Avatar summoned." Natsu interjected.

"I'm afraid that's a very different situation. Some gods, usually the lesser ones are not blessed with immortality. But these five have existed since the beginning of time. So fight them as if you're trying to kill them, but don't get reckless, because death is an impossible goal, unless Chaos does it himself. Which he won't. Second, these five can only be hurt by their own God Magics. So regular God Slaying Magic will not work. Meaning that Irene, Silver, Zeref, Yury, and Layla will have to take the front lines when we get through each. Anything less than your God Soul may not be effective enough."

"So...then how are we supposed to beat them?" Juvia asked.

"We have to knock them out of my daughter's control. Deliver a strike powerful enough to bring back their own personality and consciousness. But as I said, they cannot be killed, and so this is the only possible way to defeat them. And they won't give you that chance willingly. Gods are extremely powerful, and each one will only be stronger than the next. Now are you ready?" They all nodded slowly.

"...Alright. Let's go." She opened the doors slowly, leading into an enormous room like the last few, only this time the throne was 100 feet tall, and was occupied by a person just as large. She wore a light red toga-like dress that left her upper back and shoulders exposed. Her large breasts puffed out her outfit somewhat, revealing some of her cleavage. She wore tan sandals, and had long, reddish wavy hair that she kept tied in a loose bun, the rest of it falling through the knot and resting against her back. Her makeup made her already beautiful face even more so.

"Oh. So here you are." Her voice was mature, and spoke with power and authority. She stood up, and shrank herself to the size of the others, being about 5'10".

"So...who wants to make the first move?"

 **End.**

 **Recognize the lyrics? They're from Amanda Lee's cover of Papermoon, the second opening of Soul Eater.**


	24. Mother Earth

**So chapter 537...Mavis and Zeref stuff was great, but then...guess what? Makarov's alive, after over 20 chapters… -_- In chapter 538, not much happened other than Natsu disappearing and the sky crack at the end. I doubt that Natsu is gone for good. I don't know if you guys ever looked up the primordial greek gods before, but if you look up Chaos, you'll find a few different recounts of it and the order the gods were born in, as well as who they're related to. There are two widely accepted poets, Hesiod and Hyginus. According to Hesiod, Gaia was born directly from Chaos, and came before any of the other gods. On the other hand, Hyginus is more in tune with my own explanation: Nyx and Erebus were born first, had Aether and Hemera as children, who then had Gaia as a child, and she gave birth to Uranus. While Hesiod's work is more widely accepted, and he was alive several hundred years before Hyginus, I was taught Hyginus' way, and so I like his more. Back when I learned Greek Mythology in Middle School, many of the books in our library said the same thing: that Gaia was not the first goddess to appear; Nyx was. Just something to know, in case you were ever curious, or remembered it a different way. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Gaia's Introduction: Nocturnus (Adrian von Ziegler)**

 **Vs. Gaia Beginning: Abyss Watchers (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Irene's God Soul: Ashura Path (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Gaia's God Soul and Fight Against Her: Yhorm The Giant (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

"Look at you two...you've become so beautiful…" Gaia walked past Irene and up to Erza, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Not that that's a surprise. Of course I've seen you before." she smiled.

"You're...Gaia…" Erza breathed.

"That's right. Your ancestor. But not your first. Actually, all of you who are part of the five families...are descended from all six of us. You see, Uranus is my son. My parents are Aether and Hemera. Their parents are Nyx and Erebus, my grandparents. And they're born from Chaos. But the difference between your families and the rest of them is that you are directly descended from us. You're special. But though you may be connected to all of us, your families are closely tied to only one each because they remained separate after we found our lovers once Earthland was created. I assume all of you know about that?" she asked, stepping back.

"Yes. I told them." Victoria responded.

"Of course. I found a friendly man when I journeyed down. Unlike the others, I revealed my position as a God earlier, and he rather enjoyed my ability to control the earth and life itself. And nine months after our last night together, my daughter Iona was born, and I brought her back down to stay with her father. She would eventually marry, and the tree would go on and on until it reached you two. Although there was a slight hiccup, as you weren't born for hundreds of years, Erza." She shrunk her throne down into the size of the previous three and sat down in it again.

"...Gaia. What's with the stalling? I thought Isabella was controlling you?" Victoria asked.

"She gave us a few minutes to reunite with our families before the magic takes effect again. You have to stop her. She's gone too far this time. Do you know what you have to do to fight me?" she asked seriously.

"Yes." Irene stepped forward.

"Good. I'll try not to kill any of you, but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to control my own actions. So if you have no desire to die, then I suggest you do your best to stay alive." she warned. "For anything that's about to happen, I'm sorry." She gasped, and her head tilted back as purple energy entered her body, and her eyes turned purple like the others. But then they went back to their usual green color. She relaxed and glared back at the others.

"You may have noticed that my eyes retain their original color. Because we're Gods, she can't control us as effectively as mortals, given that we're much stronger. But, in exchange, we can only be injured by our own God Magic, and cannot be killed. I know that you've explained this to them already." She looked at Victoria. "But her magic is enough to show us the truth. That Isabella is the one true god of this world, and that sinful mortals like you who keep mucking it up need to disappear into Tartarus. Ignorant beings." She looked down at them condescendingly.

'Her tone shifted wildly...and this pressure is unbearable...is this really who I come from…?! How can we beat her?!' Erza asked herself, frozen in place.

"Erza." Jellal said sternly, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"H-Huh?"

"Don't worry. We'll be alright. Your mother is taking the lead on this one, and we'll be her backup. Alright?" he asked.

"B-But…"

"Erza. Where was that confidence from before? I thought you were anxious to meet our foremother?" Irene asked.

"How can you be so calm about this?! This isn't like before! Her magic power is threatening to tear me in half!"

"You're still standing, aren't you?"

"!"

"Pull it together. Do you want to die?"

"...No."

"Then don't. It's as simple as that." Erza remained still for a moment before taking a deep breath and glaring at Gaia.

"Requip: Rabbit Armor!" Erza transformed into her newest armor, using her two red and black twin blades. She stepped forward, next to Irene, along with Jellal.

"The rest of you. If you don't want to fight, then stay out of the way. But if you're going to help, give it your all." she ordered. Irene twirled her staff and enchanted Erza's blades and Jellal's body with her own God Magic, giving them a light green aura.

"I'll make an opening!" Natsu yelled, transforming into his Etherious form and rushing towards her. He swiftly moved to her side to try and catch her off guard, but the goddess still caught his punch with a single hand, and tossed him back against the wall.

"You really shouldn't project your strategies like that. You're so predictable Natsu." She held her palm out towards the ceiling, and raised her hand up, making vines grow out of the ground and restrict him.

"You think these will hold me?!" He channeled fire throughout his body, trying to burn them away. She watched nonchalantly, as Natsu's attack ended, and was revealed to do nothing.

"My earth powers are far stronger than you're used to. You think you can simply incinerate them? Think again. My earth is the strongest, most durable physical element out there. Only another God Magic can break it." She turned back to the others.

"Now that he's out of the way, who wants to have the next attempt?" This time, Jellal rushed up and began to try and fight her in close combat. She dodged and parried his strikes calmly, stepping back in a relaxed manner. He finally landed a hit on her, but as expected, it did not hurt her, and she placed a hand on his stomach before a vibration shot through his body, leaving him stationary in midair. She flicked him back with her finger, sending him flying against the doors. She looked back at the group of them, but her eyes quickly narrowed in annoyance as soon as she noticed the two blank spots that were previously occupied by her descendants.

'Too late.' Erza narrowed her eyes, appearing from behind and forming both of her swords into one large one. She sliced Gaia across the back, staggering her, before Irene appeared from the front and hit her in the stomach with her staff, sending her flying backwards through the throne.

Gaia slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

'Not bad...she enchanted her staff to have Earth God Magic inside of it.' Her wounds healed and she stood up, raising up both of her hands, making multiple vines come out of the ground and restrict some of the others.

"To ensure there's no more distractions, you all are in time out. Let's see if you can land a blow when it's just you three."

"Fine! Grand Chariot!" Jellal cast one of his strongest techniques on the ceiling, but when they rained down, Gaia just created a green shield around herself that completely blocked them. Erza appeared in front again, and swung her sword, but it knocked her backwards once she hit the barrier. The same happened to Irene when she created a large fireball to go through it.

"Hmph. And you call yourselves mages. Laughable." she taunted.

"Erza, use one of your other armors!" Jellal yelled out.

"Easy for you to say! I don't have an earth armor!" Gaia raised one of her hands towards her and fired a massive blast of energy, startling her.

"Requip! Adamantine Armor!" She barely had enough time to react. As soon as the armor finished appearing, Erza slammed both of her shields together, but all of it was still blown apart, sending her flying through the doors and across the floor, towards the main entrance.

"Erza!" Jellal yelled. "Damn it...True Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis!" He swiped his hands downward and created a small black hole, sending it rotating towards her.

"Easy." Without moving, multiple vines sprouted from the ground and stopped the spell. She walked up and created a sphere of light in her hand, then shoving it into the portal, blowing it apart. Jellal landed back down on his feet.

'Nothing we're doing is working! Even when we're enhanced with some of Irene's God Magic, she's stopping it with no effort at all!'

"Deus Sema!" Irene cast her strongest spell, but nothing happened. Gaia looked over her shoulder.

"Sema spells don't work here. You have to call them down from space. Olympus is a separate dimension, we don't have meteors." she explained.

"I know." Irene smirked.

"What?"

Erza rushed back at her, now in her piercing armor, wielding a lance. She thrusted it towards her with all of her strength, and impaled her right through her torso. However, she didn't seem affected by it. She wrapped her hand around the point and took it out of herself, her wound quickly healing. Erza was kicked away, and Gaia changed her size to about 10 feet tall. Erza's lance was crushed in her hand.

"Perhaps I've been too lenient on you all. If this level of power isn't enough to keep you down, then perhaps I just need to use more. You're beginning to annoy me."

Irene cast an enchantment that made some of the vines obey her. They quickly wrapped themselves around the goddess, restraining her. She tried to break them, but couldn't this time.

"What have you done to these?!" she growled, more of them still wrapping around her.

"Those won't be so easy to break out of. They're your own spell, but they listen to me now. Which means it's the perfect time to land some hits on you. Take Over: God Soul!" She became surrounded in a light green glow, and a large burst of energy emitted from her, moving outward. When it cleared, she stood covered in a light green magic cloak, like the others. Her markings converged to her stomach, where Gaia's symbol was displayed, and her face was darkened.

"Earth Goddess' Staff." She created a new staff made completely out of magic power, and twirled it around before rushing behind Gaia and struck her with it multiple times. Gaia gritted her teeth harder each time, feeling some kind of pain from the blows.

"Earth Goddess' Armor Plating." she recited. The next attack that Irene delivered had no effect, and in fact she felt recoil throughout her body.

'She hardened her back.' Irene remained stationary this time. Erza slowly got to her feet, still in the entrance hall from getting knocked away.

Gaia's eyes began glowing green, and all of her previous damage healed, as well as the vines that were holding her disappeared.

"Before I finish you off, I suppose I should tell you about the Belserion's Prophecy." This caught the attention of Layla and Victoria.

"There's...more than one?" they asked.

"Yes. Each family has one. They are connected by an overarching theme, the one that you are probably familiar with. Eventually, each Envoy will end up alone, with no family surrounding them. But, there's a reason for each family. For the Belserions, the envoy acts motherly or fatherly to their loved ones, but will eventually lose them due to smothering them."

"Smothering? So you think we give too much love? I beg to differ." Irene argued, stepping forward. "In the entirety of my time at Alvarez, I thought nothing of Erza, and upon meeting her again, I wanted nothing more than to kill her. I dumped her in Rosemary Village because I believed that she was of no use to me. And you think that I smothered her with love?"

"Yes, all of those points are true...and yet, you destroyed your own home and husband to protect her, though she was not yet born. Upon defeating her, you did not deliver a killing blow, and instead took your own life. And now, it seems that you two have begun to reconcile. After all, you're fighting on the same side. Perhaps it's not to the extent of the prophecy, but you went very far for her, even when you believed that you had run out of love. And Erza's no different. Natsu and Jellal left you for the darkness, did they not?"

"That was different! They were being controlled!" Erza defended. Gaia laughed softly.

"Yes, yes. Those may not apply as much. Natsu's betrayal ties more into the Dragneel Prophecy anywhow."

Lucy flinched at hearing this. She remembered Anna mentioning his family's fate before.

"In any case, now you know. And now it's time that I took this seriously. While I myself was not born straight from Chaos like my grandparents, I am directly descended from him. And so each Primordial God, the main six of us, have a small amount of Chaos within us. Because of this, we are able to transport ourselves in and out of our own dimensions at will."

"What are you going on about?" Jellal asked.

"Our God Souls work a bit differently from yours." This made them all widen their eyes. A few moved back out of caution and fear. She smirked, recognizing that they figured out her plan.

Mortals cannot have their own dimension. Even when you go use God Magic Portals, or go into the Realm of Night, your god is still active, as they are the ones who created that dimension. Thus, when you use a God Soul, it is nothing more than gaining a cloak of Magic Power. It makes you incredibly powerful sure, but it is merely like a piece of clothing. Ours, however, is more like a transformation. When we use God Soul, it is not a mere Take Over spell. We reveal our true forms, a feat which we can only perform in our own dimensions, and use all of our power to crush our opponent. Allow me to demonstrate."

"I don't think so! You think I'm just going to stand by while we let you transform?!" Jellal rushed at her with Meteor and kicked, but she caught his foot and sent him spinning around onto the ground.

"You're really starting to piss me off." Gaia made more vines come up and keep Jellal strapped in place. But this time, thorns came out from each one and pierced into his skin, making him cry out in pain.

"Jellal!" Erza ran over and knelt down over him, trying to cut through the plants with her sword, but it wasn't easy. Irene fired a powerful beam of green energy towards her ancestor, but her previous barrier emerged again, and completely nullified it.

" **God Soul!"** Everything around them began to distort, until the entire room had disappeared, and they now found themselves in a forest clearing, on the banks of a lake. Things seemed serene and peaceful until they looked up into the sky, seeing Gaia float down onto the middle of the lake, tapping it with her foot, a single ripple spreading throughout the small body of water. She was now 100 feet tall, towering over the others. She waved her hands, making her clothes disappear. Some of the others blushed or looked away. Her skin quickly began to turn green, becoming rather thick and scaly. Her eyes glowed green, and various vines and tree branches began to wrap themselves around her. One in particular rose up from under the water and bent in a way that she could sit on it. She did so gracefully, and her loose bun became undone, allowing all of her curly hair to flow freely, down to her mid back.

" **Now it's for real."** Her voice boomed. Even though Erza had finally finished cutting off the brush on Jellal, leaving both them and Irene free, they didn't move a single muscle.

" **What's wrong? Afraid to fight a God at her full power?"**

"What do we do?" Erza whispered.

"We fight." Jellal stood up, wincing.

"Erza." Victoria called out. She looked behind her at the others, restrained by vines as well.

"Go. I'll distract her." Jellal said, running towards the deity. Irene followed, still retaining her own God Soul. Erza ran over to Victoria and began to cut her vines.

"We don't have enough time to free anyone else. But I'll suffice for this."

"I hope so." Erza said somewhat shakily.

'This place is a separate dimension as well, which means that outer space isn't a thing here…' Irene thought to herself. 'That means no meteors, just like before.' She enchanted her feet to be able to fly, allowing her to reach the goddess without having to swim. She grabbed her staff and slammed it into Gaia's back, but the deity had no intention of stopping her, and was completely unaffected by the strike. In fact, as soon as it hit, Irene was knocked back a few feet by the recoil, and there wasn't a single mark on her skin.

" **Passive Armor Plating."** The scarlet-haired enchantress gritted her teeth frustratedly.

'Even with my spirit weapon in God Soul, I won't be able to do anything...I might have to try...that. But I don't want them to see…' She turned to the others and waved her staff once, making them all drowsy, before falling asleep. Even Erza and Jellal. The only one strong enough to dispel the effect was Victoria, who remained awake.

"Watch them. And don't tell anybody about this." she ordered, the black-haired Heartfilia complying with a nod.

Irene took a deep breath before beginning to turn into her Dragon Form, yet still maintaining her God Soul.

Her skin now had the green magic cloak, yet she still looked intimidating in her dragonified state.

" **And what are you going to do in that form? Your strongest attack is Deus Sema, which doesn't work here."**

"Yes, I'm aware." She instead breathed green fire at her, and Gaia once again did not move. But once the flames died down, she stood over on the shore, with a few burn marks.

'That did something. It's a start.'

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" Victoria asked, watching calmly.

"Yes. This is my fight, as her Envoy." She swung her claw towards Gaia, who created another barrier, but was easily smashed through, and sent her flying through the trees. She flapped her wings and flew up above the forest.

"Deus Sema." Once again, nothing happened. Irene looked up, then back towards her ancestor.

' **Ouch. What a difference...a God Soul over her Dragon Form...perhaps I didn't give her enough credit.'**

She stood up and flew back to her descendant.

" **Earth Goddess' Whip."** Gaia created her own spirit weapon, and swung it into Irene, knocking her back. She breathed fire again, but this time Gaia simply lashed her whip into the attack, diverting the flames. She tossed it up and caught it again, firing a blast of green energy towards her. Irene retaliated with another burst of flame. The two clashed, Victoria continuing to watch. Irene kept pushing back against her attack, and eventually overcame it, damaging Gaia again, but the wounds were healed just as quickly.

" **Do you not realize how pointless it is?"** As soon as she asked that, a giant meteor flew down at a blinding speed, and slammed into her, sending her flying.

"...It's gone." Victoria said. Irene deactivated her God Soul and Dragon Forms, sighing. She began to walk over to her.

"You're a genius." she complimented in between breaths.

"It was nothing." she smiled.

"How did you two do that?" Gaia asked, rubbing her head and walking up to the two. She had deactivated her own God Soul, and put her red toga back on.

"Are you back for real?" Irene asked.

"Yes. And I've enchanted my mind so that she can't take control of me anymore." She released the vines that were holding the others hostage. They were still asleep, though.

"Good. It was a plan that we came up with before walking in." she clarified. They both turned to Victoria, who had a hand on her hip.

"Having been here multiple times, I was quite aware that your God Souls work differently. I knew that when you use it, we would go to your dimension. But, as you explained, being able to switch dimensions is a property of Chaos Magic. And my specialty, Holy Magic, nullifies and reverses any effects of Chaos Spells. So, we were sent back to Olympus, but Irene enchanted the area to look like your dimension."

"After I performed my Dragon God Soul, I used a Master Enchantment to create a meteor, and added another enchantment to make it go faster, so you wouldn't have enough time to destroy it."

"I see. That was very clever of you." She blasted healing magic into everyone, making them slowly wake up.

"Do you want to stay here for a bit?"

"A few hours can't hurt. Besides, Erza wanted to meet you."

"Ah. I imagine that she wants some answers." She shrunk her throne down to human sized, and sat in it.

"What...happened?" Some of the others asked.

"We brought Gaia back to consciousness." Victoria explained.

"Impossible!" Erza yelled. "How?!"

"An optical illusion and a few Master Enchantments." Irene said.

"So...you're back to normal?" Jellal asked.

"Yes. And I'm going to stay that way. So, how did you like your first battle with a God?" she laughed softly. Everyone froze up.

"It was...terrifying. You barely gave any effort." Erza muttered.

"Oh, come now. I used my God Soul."

"But we were all restrained by your vines, and even after you used it, you remained stationary most of the time. I wouldn't call that effort..."

"On the contrary. Perhaps not you, but your mother was quite a formidable opponent. She forced me to use my own spirit weapon, my vine whip." She nodded at Irene, keeping her final transformation a secret. "So...you all should take a seat and restore your stamina. I'll tell you about my time on earth."

 _ **X50**_

" _Gaia. Chaos requests your presence."_

" _Thank you, Father. I'll go there now." Gaia told Aether, heading towards Valhalla. She entered the throne room and walked to the top of the stairway. There was no throne there like in the future. Instead, there was the pristine circular silver floor. Gaia walked up to the top and stood in the center. The room seemed to disappear, and only the stairs remained, as she stared down into an endless void, as if she was observing space itself._

" _Lord Chaos." she curtsied._

" _ **Gaia. I have a task for you. The same one as the others."**_

" _Of course. What is it that you require?"_

" _ **If you remember, it's been 50 years now since I destroyed Earth and created Earthland. I blessed some of the inhabitants with magic, in the hopes that they would use it to help others. It's only been five decades, but they are already on the same course as before...the mages have grouped up and formed guilds. Those guilds war against each other to prove who's superior, and those with malevolent motives have even founded what are called dark guilds, who prey on both mages and non-magic folk. I hoped that this would have worked out better than the previous planet, but apparently I was wrong."**_

" _Are you going to do it again?"_

" _ **No. It takes too much preparation, and the populace is fine most of the time. Instead, I'm having the five of you go down there, and finding someone to make love with."**_

" _...Pardon?"_

" _ **You will have to leave your magic power here, otherwise you will break reality when you go there. The planet is not meant to deal with the pressure of an aura such as yours. But, you are each going to spend some time there, as much as you need, to fall in love with someone, and end up conceiving a child. That child will be given some of your powers, making them much stronger compared to the mages I created, who only have basic magic prowess. Granted, you'll have to return here to resume your duties as a goddess. But, you will keep watch on them. The others are going to do the same. Your children will keep balance in the world, defeating problematic guilds as they come to the surface. And, once every few generations, when a new descendant is born with remarkable innate power, you will bless that one with the same power as your child. However, we should not risk having more than one of these descendants per god alive at a time. You all should only have one alive at a time, and do not choose a new one until all of the others have passed away as well."**_

" _...I understand. I will depart immediately." She left the viewing platform, walking back through Valhalla and back into Asgard, heading towards the exit into Olympus. Later on that night, all five gods left and flew down into Earthland, looking like five different shooting stars. Gaia landed into an open field, emerging at her human size._

" _Oh my god, are you alright?!" she heard a man yell._

" _Hm?" She looked up to see a man standing at the top of the crater that she created. He wore black pants, a white shirt, and a black coat, and carried a suitcase. He had short black hair, and a rough voice, but a concerned face._

" _Yes, I'm fine." She walked out, brushing herself off._

" _What do you mean 'you're fine'? You just got hit by a massive asteroid!"_

" _Yes...and?"_

" _Come with me. I'm a doctor, and I'm not letting you go off until I make sure that you're absolutely fine." He didn't wait for an answer, grabbing her wrist and bringing her along with him, somewhat startling her._

 _ **X**_

 _He brought her into a room where he motioned for her to sit down on an examination table. She glanced around at the supplies he had. They didn't seem as technologically advanced as Earth's medical supplies at the end of 2020. But, she assumed that they used healing magics as a substitute. He hung up his coat on the door and faced her, Gaia looking him in the eye._

" _If you wouldn't mind taking your clothes off…? I just want to make sure you have no wounds anywhere." She remained silent, closing her eyes and complying. She watched him carefully as he inspected her body for any wounds, before taking out a stethoscope, and pressing it to her chest._

" _Breathe in, please. And out." They repeated this a few more times on her back, before he put his gear away and sat down in a nearby chair._

" _I don't understand…you're not hurt at all." Gaia put her clothes back on and sat down, staring at him with a bored look on her face._

" _What's with that look?"_

" _None of this was even remotely necessary. I could have told you that at the start."_

" _Then why didn't you?"_

" _Because I was curious about you. After all, the first thing you were concerned about was my well-being. Most others would be frightened."_

" _And why's that?"_

" _Because of what I am. You just don't know. And I don't know that you should."_

" _Oh? You make it sound as if you're not from this world. Will you tell me?"_

" _...You have to promise that you won't tell anyone else."_

" _...I promise."_

" _Well...the reason that I'm not injured is because I wasn't hit by that meteor. I was that meteor."_

" _What?! That's impossible!"_

" _I'm not from this world."_

" _So…..you're an alien?"_

" _You could say that."_

" _So then...if you didn't need any of this, why did you let me do what I did? I mean, you took your clothes off…"_

" _I was curious about your goals here. You claimed you were a doctor, and yet you could have taken advantage of me. One can never be too careful. Thankfully, your intentions were purely for medical purposes."_

" _Oh, please. You're a beautiful woman, but I'd never take advantage of you like that."_

" _I see. Lucky for you as well. Had you attempted something like that, you would have been destroyed."_

" _Ah...coming from somewhere else means that you're a powerful being, are you?"_

" _You could say that."_

" _You're don't like to give direct answers, do you?"_

" _Like I said, I'm a cautious person. No one on this world knows who I am, nor should they."_

" _Then why are you here if you don't want anyone to know about you?"_

" _That's for me to know and you to find out."_

' _Wait a minute...what am I saying? Should he be the one? He's the first man I met here.'_

" _I see. Well, thank you for your cooperation once again. You can leave if you want."_

' _That's it? He's just going to leave it like that? That's...somewhat disappointing.' She stood up and walked to the door._

" _Thank you for making sure I was alright, even though I didn't need it." She opened the door and began to walk out._

" _Wait! Um...may I ask your name?"_

" _...Gaia. And yours?"_

" _Cedric."_

" _It was nice to meet you, Cedric." she smiled at him before walking out._

' _I may be back.' She headed towards the nearest town._

 _ **X**_

" _Alright, what clothes are trending right now?" She watched a few people walk by, and it seemed to be pretty formal, save for the mages, who mostly wore cloaks._

" _That will work." She requipped a simple green hooded cloak over her outfit, and walked to the nearest guild. Some of the members looked up as she entered._

" _Master. Someone's here." One of the members called, a man walking down and looking at her. He had short brown hair and a somewhat intimidating demeanor. He wore a light purple outfit and had piercing brown eyes. He somewhat softened his gaze when he noticed that she was a beautiful woman._

" _What can I help you with, Miss?"_

" _I'd like to join your guild."_

" _Would you now? What's your name?"_

" _Gaia."_

" _What kind of magic do you use?"_

" _Earth Magic."_

" _Someone like you uses an element as strong as earth?"_

" _You shouldn't judge people based on appearances."_

" _Perhaps not. But I don't just take people into my guild. I want a demonstration of your magic capabilities."_

" _What kind of demonstration would you prefer?"_

" _Your choice. You can either fight one of the other members, or complete a job."_

" _The first one sounds easier and quicker. So give me your strongest member and we'll go at it a few rounds." Everyone began to laugh._

" _You're going straight for our strongest member? Well, that would be me, but I'm not part of this. Caedmon. Show her she's out of her league." A powerful looking man wearing a brown cloak came down from the top floor of the guild and grinned at her (Like Gildarts, but cocky). Gaia wasn't fazed whatsoever._

" _Come on, let's take it outside. No damage in the guild." he smirked._

" _Fine by me." she said coldly, walking outside and standing across from him. "Whenever you're ready."_

" _I'm not going to pull punches just because you're a woman!" he yelled, running towards her and extending a fist. But it stopped just short of her face, making her hair blow back a bit, yet she still remained unfazed._

" _What the-?!"_

" _I wouldn't move if I were you." Caedmon glanced down, seeing a wrapping of thorned vines all around his body._

" _Moved and you'll get stabbed in every direction. It'll hurt."_

" _When did you-?!"_

" _I didn't. I never made a move. My magic spawns on its own. That's how proficient I am." The vines went back underground and he regained his balance._

" _So, was that good enough?" she asked the guild master._

" _...Of course. I'm sorry I doubted you. Really, I've never seen anything like that before. My name is Byron. Gaia, was it? Welcome to our guild."_

 _ **8 Months Later**_

 _She needed to find someone. Already ⅔ of her time had gone by. The others had already found someone. But perhaps it wasn't that surprising. After all, Uranus always used a cool guy persona, Aether was good-looking, Erebus played the bad boy, which meant that the ladies were all over him, and of course Nyx was the most beautiful being to ever exist, which meant that men would never leave her alone. While she certainly had the looks, she wanted it to be someone who appreciated her for who she was, not a repeat of when she was with Father Sky. Frankly, the guys at her guild would only catcall her. They were only in it for the sex, not the romance. Her best bet seemed to be Cedric, whom she had revisited a few times, but only as a friend._

 _Gaia walked back to the guild from a meeting with her family. But upon arrival, everyone was gone. Come to think of it, the entire town seemed to be rather quiet today. Upon asking one of the residents, they said that the entire guild had gone to fight a battle against a dark guild._

" _Where?"_

" _It's over in the field, just past the city."_

' _That's where Cedric lives.' She started running there, waiting until no one else was around to see, before turning into a comet and flying towards the area. Upon arrival, there were bodies everywhere. Every member of her guild was dead. She walked over to Byron's body, and bent down to look at him._

" _Gaia...where were you?" he choked out._

" _I was preoccupied. How strong are they?"_

" _They're...using a magic weapon...a cannon…" She stood up, preparing to go towards the dark guild._

" _Gaia...avenge us…" She stopped and looked down at him condescendingly._

" _Avenge you? And why would I do that?"_

" _Because...you're one of us…!" She bent down again._

" _I never cared for any of you. I used you. I only joined you because I thought that I could achieve my goal faster. But instead, I've spent 8 months wasting time. And you want me to avenge you?" His eyes were widened in shock, in disbelief about this new side of her._

" _I don't fight out of anger, Byron. I'm not supposed to. It's beneath me." She walked off, leaving him for dead. She finally came to where the dark guild's building was, with the entire group out in front,_

" _Ah...there you are." the guild master announced from on top of their magic cannon. She looked up without saying a word._

" _Yes, I knew about you. You're rumored to be stronger than your whole guild put together." Again, she said nothing._

" _The silent treatment? Perhaps this will make you talk." He grabbed a hostage, who looked an awful lot like-_

" _Cedric!" she called out._

" _Yes, see we figured that we'd grab a hostage. Don't move a step, or else we'll kill him._

' _They're not standing on the ground. My vines wouldn't reach them in time before he'd get killed. Even if they did, one of the others would just kill him as soon as I took out their leader.'_

" _That's it. Remain stationary. Fire the cannon." With a wave of a hand, the magic cannon charged up and fired a beam towards her, destroying the ground. A giant stone wall created itself in front of Gaia and blocked it, but destroyed it in the process._

" _Fire again."_

" _Gaia!" Cedric yelled out. "Don't worry about me, take care of them!" She looked up at him._

' _The first man I've met who's willing to risk his life to let me live mine. He's the one. And he's been here all along.'_

 _She summoned her whip and lashed it into the beam, splitting it apart and destroying the cannon._

" _Wh-What?! Impossible!" She retracted her whip and activated her God Soul, growing in size, and her eyes glowing green, her clothes disappearing and her skin becoming scaly and armor plated._

" _What are you…?'_

 _She reached down and carefully picked Cedric up in her hand, and used her whip to curl around and impale all of them on the thorns. She retracted it and undid her transformation._

" _Are you alright?"_

" _Yes, I'll be fine. What was that?" She sighed._

" _I suppose I'll have to explain everything to you now that you saw that. Look." She raised a few fingers, making flowers bloom all around them._

" _Wow...Fascinating!"_

" _Have a seat." They sat down together at the top of a hill, under a tree._

" _If you recall, I said that I'm not of this world. The thing is, I'm a goddess."_

" _A goddess. Really?"_

" _You don't sound very surprised."_

" _Who can be after what I just witnessed?"_

" _Good point." she laughed softly. "I've existed almost since the beginning of time, so I'm actually around 4.5 billion years old."_

" _This planet is that old?"_

" _Yes. This next part may be difficult for you to believe. According to your calendar, it's the year X50, but there were other civilizations that existed for hundreds of thousands of years before now."_

" _Really? What happened to them?"_

" _Well…51 years ago, the year before Earthland was created, humanity was wiped out. Society had become so corrupted by the world's leaders, and so discriminate, that my great-grandfather, Chaos, decided to start with a clean slate. We destroyed all life, and then reformed it into the world that you know."_

" _So then the humans…?"_

" _Merely created by us. They did not evolve from animals like the previous generation."_

" _..."_

" _It's alright if you hate us."_

" _Hate you? I think you did the right thing. Who would want to continue watching a world like that? And I'm happy with what you created. It's a wonderful world."_

" _Thank you. That's not the reaction I expected. I'm pleasantly surprised."_

" _You're welcome. So then, if you solved that, why are you down here now? You said you couldn't tell me last time."_

" _The thing is...the world hasn't exactly changed. Many guilds and dark guilds are warring with each other nowadays. But since your world hasn't existed that long, we decided not to destroy it again. It takes a lot of preparation as well. Instead, myself and my colleagues are here for a year, to find someone to have a child with. It's been 8 months already."_

" _How would that help?"_

" _If we have a child with another god, they are born as a god. But if we have a child with a mortal, they are a demigod, and inherit some of our powers while retaining mortal characteristics. When I come down here, I discard most of my magic power, and shrink myself down to the size of a human. As impressive as it was, my power against those guys was severely limited. I'm surprised I could even do that much. If I came down here with all of my strength, it would warp the planet, and if I stayed here long enough, would destroy it. And so, if I had a child with another god, they'd have the same limit on their strength. Therefore, if I have a demigod child, they'd inherit some of my power, yet be able to live here indefinitely without any restrictions."_

" _So then...your child is meant to keep order around here, correct?"_

" _Exactly. Someone with my powers down here would be far stronger than any normal mage. And so the five of them are supposed to work together and stop the others from fighting against each other so much."_

" _I see now. So you wouldn't have to erase life here again."_

" _Yes…..Cedric. I want you to be the one."_

" _W-What? Are you sure? Why so sudden?"_

" _You and I are a lot alike. We have the same interests, and the same kind of personalities. The same kind of intelligence, the same beliefs. And no other man that I've met during my time here has been like you. You're someone that really cares about me, not just for my looks. It's kind of cliche, isn't it? That the first man I met when I came down here is the one I end up falling for."_

" _Gaia...I'd be honored if you chose me."_

" _Thank you. I hope you realize though, that I'm not going to be able to stay here. I can visit when I get the chance, but I have to carry out my role as a goddess up in my own dimension."_

" _...I understand. As long as I see you once in a while." he smiled._

 _ **X**_

" _How are you feeling?" It had been a week since Gaia had given birth to her daughter, Iona. She was currently resting._

" _I'm fine. Tired, but nothing else. I've given birth to far more painful beings than her." she chuckled. "How is she?'_

" _Sleeping. Would you like to see her?"_

" _Yes." The two had bought out her old guild building and lived there. Cedric went into the other room and handed a tiny baby girl to her mother, who cuddled her._

" _Good girl, Iona. Don't worry, I'll come back and visit you when you're older. When you've become strong and beautiful." she kissed her before handing her back to her father._

" _I'm leaving at the end of the week, and bringing her with me. I'll be back in a month, when she's old enough to bottle feed."_

" _Ah...already…?"_

" _I'm sorry…" She sat up slowly and kissed him. "But...we'll always be together. I didn't tell you this before, but when people here die, they do go to an afterlife. They are judged based on how many good and bad deeds they did, and are sent to either Olympus or Tartarus. And I know for a fact that you'll be sent to Olympus, where I live. And I'll gladly spend time with you there."_

" _Heh...I love you."_

" _I love you too."_

 **X**

"And that's about the gist of it."

"So then...are Cedric and Iona still around here?" Erza asked.

"Yes. They live down in Shangri-La."

"And not Avalon?" she questioned.

"When someone arrives in Olympus, whichever city they choose to live in is their choice. However, we do inform them that the higher up you are to Asgard, the higher the pressure in the atmosphere, due to our magic powers. Those who live in Avalon are among the strongest, both physically and mentally. Either that, or they are somewhat unaffected by a god's presence. For example, your father Lucy, and your mother Zeref. Neither are mages, but because they lived their lives with a demigod, they grew used to that type of magic power, and thus are not quite as weighed down as some others. Cedric was not a mage, and though Iona was, she was not as strong as Irene, thus they decided to live in the second city."

"Anyways, I think you've spent enough time here. If you want to come back and see me later, you can, but for now, you need to move on to Uranus." They all stood up, Silver sighing and taking the lead.

"Oh, one more thing. Victoria, that strategy you used on me...where you switched dimensions and enchanted this one."

"Yes?" 

"Were you planning on using that same plan on all of us? It won't work."

"Yes, I was...you don't think it will work again?"

"No. Enchantments work by adding magical properties into physical objects. Since I'm the Goddess of Earth, it's rather simple to enchant the scenery of the land. But if the others use their God Souls and take you to their dimensions as well...you won't be able to do so. Uranus uses wind and ice in his dimension, and ice is just frozen water. The base property is not physical. And the others...Aether and Erebus use Light and Darkness, two intangible elements. And Nyx's is not even an element, it is a power beyond any simple explanation. It will be impossible to enchant those kinds of things, and plus they'd take notice of it faster than I did."

"...Thank you for the information." She waved goodbye before continuing with the others. They opened the door in the back, coming into a blue-themed hallway. A strong burst of wind went through, making some of the group shiver.

"It's s-s-so….c-cold…" Lucy rubbed her arms. Silver went and opened the doors, unaffected. They continued walking in, coming face to face with the patriarch of the Fullbusters.

"If you don't like the cold, then leave." Uranus looked down on the others from his throne. "It will only get worse from here."

 **End.**


	25. Father Sky

**I don't think Acnologia's going to go out in such a big way. Chapter 539 was basically "Surprise, surprise, he's back and stronger than ever." Chapter 540 was the other Dragon Slayers coming to, and teaming up to fight him. Also, Anna and Ichiya are alive...again…-_- But with only 6 chapters left, I don't anticipate it to be that long of a fight, just because Mashima doesn't have the comfort of length. He basically did what I've been trying to avoid: bring a character back just for them to die again. The only reason I did it with my own Acnologia fight was to display a sense of tension when Isabella revived him, and then for a small show in difference between his and Natsu's strength. But, besides this, Mashima has effectively done this with Makarov too. The act of bringing him back to life after such an impactful death scene is infuriating, but he is already 89 years old, and so he doesn't have that much longer to live anyways. Especially since most shonen manga have a timeskip epilogue, i.e. Naruto, Bleach, and probably One Piece when it actually ends. It's usually about 10 years or so into the future, and shows the characters as adults, usually married, and maybe even with kids. So if Fairy Tail follows suit, it stands to reason that Makarov would have passed away from old age, and thus you defeated the purpose of his death scene by bringing him back, and having him die of natural causes. Granted, Mashima has stated multiple times that he wants Fairy Tail to have happy endings, but I feel like another happy ending that would have worked better is a new guild master, and moving on by honoring his memory, like what I'm going to do. In any case, enjoy. This chapter might not be quite as long as the next 4. Speaking of which, there's probably only going to be 5 chapters left of this story as well.**

 **Songs**

 **Vs. Uranus: Dancer of the Boreal Valley (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Uranus Spirit Weapon: Champion's Gravetender & Greatwolf (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Double Bladed Lance: Champion's Gravetender & Greatwolf part 2 (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Uranus God Soul: Pontiff Sulyvahn (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Victoria's God Soul: Ornstein & Smough (Dark Souls OST)**

Everyone stood there in silence, looking up at the god, who was looking down at them. He wore a light blue toga, had long gray hair, a gray mustache, and a long gray beard. He had a stern face, but didn't seem entirely evil. He shrunk himself and his throne down to human sized, standing at 6'2".

"How interesting…" he spoke with a deep voice, and walked with an air of authority, holding his hands behind his back as he went towards Juvia.

"What, you're not even going to acknowledge me?" Silver joked. Uranus glanced at him for a brief moment before looking back at her.

"I already know everything about you. Why would I need to study you?" Juvia looked at him curiously.

"Tell me something, girl."

"Y-Yes?" she felt her heart rate drop as soon as he addressed her.

"What is it that you find so appealing in these two?"

"In Gray-sama and Silver-sama? Their passion…"

"I see…" He walked back and sat on his throne again. "I find you intriguing. Ever since you met Gray, you've been constantly disproving my family's prophecy. The Fullbuster Prophecy states that a member of my family will end up alone because of their indifference. They tend to put a constant barricade on themselves, not trusting their friends, and wanting to do everything alone." Gray lowered his gaze to the ground.

"You think that Gray-sama and Silver-sama do everything alone? You clearly don't know them as much as you think you do!" Juvia protested.

"Juvia. It's alright." Gray put his hand in front of her, and stepped forward. Uranus arched an eyebrow in interest.

"I'm starting to believe that there's truth to these prophecies, as silly as they sound. It's true that I haven't been the most open person...especially when I left to join Avatar...but I believe that even if the prophecies become true, that they can be amended as well. I've been trying to change throughout this war, and by the time we're done here, these prophecies won't mean shit!"

"You think so? Perhaps your generation might be fine, but in 100 years, when the next 5 envoys are chosen, they will fall victim to the same foretelling. Ice Magic is a staple of ours, and as long as you wield it, your heart will become frozen in solitude. Especially if you're a Devil Slayer or Envoy. In fact, you've followed the prophecy more closely than your father, Gray. He's lucky that he has Layla, who will always remain by his side. But you, on the other hand...Juvia keeps trying to get closer to you and all you do is push her away. How sad." Gray, in a fit of rage, manifested his devil slayer marks and made a path of purple ice towards his god. But, he stomped on the ground, causing a shockwave that shattered the attack.

"How ridiculous. Using Ice Magic against me is pointless. You should know that." Gray gritted his teeth and ran towards him.

"Stop." Silver grabbed him and threw him back. "You're going to get yourself killed. Leave this to me." He stepped forward.

"You believe you'll fare any better? I don't see how, you use the same magic that he does, just to a larger extent."

"It's that larger extent that counts." The air started dropping in temperature quickly, so much so that the walls in the room began to freeze.

"Hey, Natsu, Zeref." he looked over his shoulder at the two. "Create a force field and light a fire inside. Any of you who can't stand the cold should go in there and join them. You should leave this to us." Silver, Gray, and Juvia stepped forward.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Our magics are the same type, which means that I should be able to eat anything that he throws at me." he grinned.

"...Alright then. Everyone, come over here! Darkness God's Wall!" He created a dark force field around everyone, and Natsu lit a fire within.

"It's only going to get colder from here on out, so try and stay warm." he advised, everyone huddling close together.

"Very well…let's begin." Uranus flexed his hand, a cold wind blowing through the room, right into the faces of the three.

"Gray-sama...Water Magic won't do anything to him…"

"Then help me out. We'll combine our powers, and use them against him." She nodded at him, and began to form Water Nebula, while he charged up Ice Devil Slayer Magic on his hand.

"I'll go first." Silver jumped towards him, creating an icicle spear.

"You poor fool." Uranus raised his leg up, intending to block the attack with his foot. As soon as Silver's icicle connected with his sandal, it shattered, surprising him. He kicked him back, making him land on the floor.

"Curious as to why that happened? It's fairly simple. I hardened my foot with ice, and made it stronger and sturdier than yours."

"So...that's it then?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're so overconfident, Isabella." He narrowed his eyes. "You always talk about how superior you are, how your victims are nothing. You just explained how you were able to stop my attack."

"I explain my abilities because I know that you can do nothing to stop them."

"It doesn't matter, because explaining how you did something just lets us come up with a way to stop it. You see, the difference between us is that you don't try. You haven't really used any strategies in years, have you? It's because you don't have to. Your mind isn't as sharp as ours. We may not be quite as smart as you, but we sure as hell are not stupid. We're able to adapt to our situations, and think ahead. We can become smarter. And the same thing goes for your powers. You have reached the peak of your abilities, you can't get any better than you are right now. But getting to you, these fights that we're in. They're helping us grow, they're preparing us for you."

"It really doesn't matter. Because there will always be a huge gap between us. I may not be able to become any stronger than I am right now, but it's not that big of a deal when no one else can ever reach my level, is it? You can't stop the gods, how do you plan to stop me?"

"We are stopping the gods. We're freeing them from your control."

"That's not what I meant." Uranus created an icicle that he flung towards Silver, but was then stopped by Gray and Juvia's attack.

"Unison Raid: Shotgun!" They yelled, launching a frozen vortex that spit out multiple ice spears. A large gust of wind blew around the god, dispersing the attack. Silver stabbed him through the back with another icicle, but it didn't do anything. He kicked him back, took the weapon out of him, and healed his wound.

'That won't work at all. In order to truly get him, I'll have to use my spirit weapons.'

"Heaven God's Renditional Blades!" He created two pink ice swords, covered in a whirlwind.

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fists!" Gray formed his ice gauntlets over his hands, and ran towards the god, punching him across the face. He still remained unaffected, grabbing his weaponized gloves and tossing him aside.

"How unfortunate. Your strongest magic is Ice Devil's, but that can't do a thing to me."

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Bow!" Gray formed his bow and arrow, but fired them with his gauntlets still on, adding some extra power to the arrow.

Uranus held his hand out to catch the arrow, but this time it went through it and sent him flying after hitting him in the chest.

"You were saying?" he smirked.

"I was saying that it can't harm me." He stood back up, removing the arrow from his chest and snapping it in half. Silver went and slashed him across his back multiple times, staggering him before falling onto the floor. Silver wasted no time rushing over and combining his swords into one greatsword, before slashing him across his back twice.

"Done yet?"

"No...not by a longshot." He flipped up and kicked Silver away before holding his hand out behind him.

"Heaven God's Lance." A powerful blue ice lance surrounded in wind materialized into his hand before twirling it around to his side and then behind him before extending it to his front, pointing it at them.

"Bastard." Silver ran up and swung his greatsword at him again, but Uranus blocked the strike with his weapon before disarming him by swinging it upward.

"So you still think that you can win? It would be laughable if you said yes."

"I can still hurt you. I just have to hit you hard enough to knock you out of him!" He jumped up and swung his blade in a circle once, before it transformed into his huge blade, bigger than his body. He swung it over his head before smashing it down towards the god. But, he simply grew in size, making his weapon bigger, and strong enough to block it.

"Are you two going to just stand around and watch?" he asked Gray and Juvia without looking at them.

"Ice Devil's Rage!" Gray fired a beam of purple ice towards his ancestor, who simply formed a second lance and blocked it by spinning it.

"It's like I told you. Useless."

"You have such a problem. Telling me to stop standing there and then as soon as I do something, you brush it off." Gray said through gritted teeth.

"It's part of my charm." Just then, he lost his balance as Juvia slid her leg under his foot, tripping him. Both of his weapons disappeared as Silver continued down and sliced him in half.

"Silver-sama!" Juvia screamed, her hands covering her mouth.

"Don't worry, he's not dead." he reassured. After a few seconds, icy wind surrounded his body, moving the two halves together, before the wounds stitched themselves together, and he stood back up again.

"What part of god don't you understand? They cannot die, no matter what. Even if our head is cut in half, or our heart is stabbed, we do not perish. Now let's get this over with. I've become bored." Wind blasted around him, blowing them back against the walls of the room.

"Ow….Gray-sama…" Juvia landed against Gray, the two of them sitting up slowly. Uranus once again formed his two lances, a blue-gray aura beginning to surround him.

"So, let's see just how cold we can make this room." His eyes flashed blue.

"Silver-sama...how in the world are we supposed to defeat him?!"

"I don't know…we need Natsu and Yury."

"Juvia will get them." She ran over to the sphere of darkness before tapping on it. Zeref opened it up to let her in.

"What's wrong?"

"We need Natsu-san and Yury-sama!"

"Fire?" they asked at the same time.

"Yes."

"Yury, you go. We need someone here to keep us warm, otherwise we'll freeze to death."

"Of course." He stood up, walking out.

"I'm going too." Victoria followed him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go?" Natsu asked, tending to the flames on his hands.

"Yes. Yury's more experienced dealing with gods, and we need someone to keep us alive. Don't worry." Juvia ran back out as Zeref closed his sphere again.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Yury yelled, coming out to wind whirling around everywhere.

"What's going on is that he's insane!" Silver yelled back, using his giant sword as a shield against the wind.

"Silver, we're not going to get anywhere unless you use your God Soul!"

"No! Not yet!" He ran towards him, swinging his sword again. Uranus once again enlarged, now standing at 9 feet tall, his lances growing with him. Once again, the sword was blocked, and Silver was sent flying backwards.

"Take Over: God Soul!" Yury activated his own, as Gray and Juvia decided to stay back, protecting each other.

"And why not?!" Victoria yelled at him this time, as he got slammed back again, this time merely by the god's arm.

"Light God's Belisama!" Yury created his greatsword, flying towards him, and clashing back and forth, evenly matched.

"Because then I'll be outmatched!" he yelled, running towards him again, slashing with his own greatsword, but getting blocked by Uranus' strikes again. He knocked both of them away before slamming the ends of his lances together, making a double spear.

"Light God's Horus!" Yury's greatsword absorbed black light as he flew towards him again, swinging against his new weapon.

"You know, those weapons are larger and deal more damage, but they'll never land a hit on me with how slow they are." He twirled his double spear around before thrusting, breaking through his sword.

"Light God's Hyperion!" He created his strongest and largest sword, going against him again. This time, he had trouble fending off the attack, before Silver ran up with his own again and finally overpowered him, slicing him back through his throne and against the doors in the back of the room.

"Explain to me how you'd be outmatched." Yury walked up to him.

"If I used my God Soul now, he'd just use his and become stronger than me. So what would be the point? It would just put us in danger more quickly."

"The point is that it would get us closer to victory quicker!"

"If we had the opportunity to take him down before he transformed, wouldn't you want to take it?!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Victoria screamed, coming between the two. "Who was right and wrong doesn't matter right now! What does is trying to stop him before he-"

" **God Soul!"**

"...Shit."

Uranus stood up and began to transfer them into his own dimension. However, he decided to leave Zeref's sphere and those inside of it outside of his selection. Only Silver, Yury, and Victoria were brought to his world: a frozen tundra, with only snow and ice everywhere. A strong wind was blowing around, yet the night sky was clear, filled with stars. As expected, he grew exponentially, while his eyes remained glowing blue. His skin remained normal, and didn't change color like Gaia's did.

"Take Over: God Soul." Silver activated his own transformation before summoning his giant sword again, as Yury used Light God's Hyperion. Golden Magic Power began to surge around Victoria.

" **Heaven God's Frozen Lances."** 5 giant frozen lances started circling around his body, seemingly having wills of their own. **[A/N: At this point, be exactly 1 minute into Pontiff's theme for added effect. And yes, this move is homage to Xaldin from Kingdom Hearts.]**

" **Heaven God's Frozen Double Spear."** Blue and Pink lightning started flashing everywhere as Uranus held his hand up to the sky and his frosted double pointed weapon appeared in his hand before he looked down on the others like insects. He quickly propelled the object downwards towards the three, who narrowly dodged it by jumping out of the way, a huge impact spreading across the ground as they connected, lightning continuing to spark around the weapon.

"This is just ridiculous. Holy God's Binding Chains." Victoria cast powerful restraining gold chains from her hand that wrapped themselves around Uranus and binded him.

" **You think...these can hold me…?!"** He tried to break out, but actually had some trouble.

"Hurry up!" She looked at Silver.

"Heaven God's Renditional Blades!" He formed his twin rapiers and jumped up towards the god, beginning to spin around and slash him over and over again. Uranus broke one of his arms out, reaching for his weapon on the ground.

"I don't think so! Light God's Hyperion!" Yury created his biggest sword and cut the arm, making him pull it back.

"Light God's Amaterasu!" He fired a beam of light from his sword towards the god, stopping him from moving. Silver combined the swords into his greatsword, and began slashing him again, slower but stronger.

'This is the end!' He enlarged his blade to maximum, preparing to slice him again, but Uranus narrowed his eyes angrily, causing the other lances to impale Silver, preventing his attack. The others went down into Yury, stopping both of them.

'Tch...they've been cutting him, they need to hit him.'

" **One left."** He grabbed his double spear and aimed it at Victoria, who sighed.

"Let's see, which one to use…" she tapped her finger against her chin.

" **So long."**

"Take Over: God Soul." Victoria became surrounded in a white and golden aura, and floating up so that she was level with his face.

"I was hoping to save this for later, but I guess with the fighting styles of those two, I have to take charge. Holy God's Expulsion." She created a sphere of gold energy in her hand before flying over to his chest and slamming both of her palms against it. His form began to glow the same color before a purple mass of energy left him, and his personality returned to normal.

" **Victoria? What...happened?"**

"How about a thank you?"

" **...Thanks."** Their dimensions switched back to normal, and she released her transformation, as did he. She healed both Yury and Silver, and Zeref released his spell, sensing that the fight was now over.

Uranus sat down in his throne and formed some water in his hands before washing his face.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"Yes...again, thank you." He looked at Silver, Gray, and Juvia. "I must apologize. Isabella did not have complete control of me. Some of that fight was of my own accord, mainly the latter half."

"So you mean you were fighting us because you wanted to?" Gray asked angrily.

"Yes. Take it however you wish, but the way I see it, you don't stand a chance against Isabella if you can't defeat us first."

"Well? How did we do?"

"Not well. As of right now, the only one qualified is Victoria. The rest of you have a ways to go."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that there were two things that you did wrong. I understand that not all of you are fighting because only my own magic can injure me. But, you've given up." He pointed at Juvia and Gray. "You two in particular. You couldn't land a hit, so you stopped fighting. When you face Isabella, you will not get any openings whatsoever. So, you must create one. All of you must participate, no matter who gets hurt and who dies. You cannot be afraid, and you cannot hesitate. Especially since…"

"Since what?" Victoria asked, after a pause.

"...Since your magic may not work on her."

"That's impossible."

"It's not." he countered back immediately. "Earlier, you said that you were able to adapt to situations, yet as far as I can see, you're going about this as if it's a straight path. One fight leads to the next, and you need merely to defeat your opponent to get further. Things can change easily. Do you realize that Isabella can easily rewrite the timeline so that Holy Magic doesn't work against her? Or that she can make it so that you never learned it at all?"

"...So why hasn't she?"

"That's what you need to find out. If she really didn't care about any of you, then she could simply erase you all instantly. But she hasn't yet. Clearly, she needs you around for some reason."

"...That's all you have to say?"

"Yes. What more would you like me to say? How I met my lover on Earth? It's not as touching as Gaia or Nyx. I've never been much of a family man. I'm not about to have an epiphany and become a doting forefather. After all, you've never really cared about me, right?" he looked over at Silver. "I barely talked to you so why should you talk to me?"

Silver stared at him for a few moments.

"Sorry if I'm not the man you want me to be. But this is who I am. And I'm not going to change. You'll be even more disappointed when you get to Erebus."

"...Let's go. We have nothing more to do here." Silver closed his eyes and began walking towards the back doors.

"Are you sure, Silver-sama?" Juvia asked.

"Yes. We'll just be wasting time if we stay here. Let's get going." He opened them, and after a moment, the others followed him, leaving the Sky God by himself.

'A frozen heart, huh?' Silver thought to himself.

 **End.**


	26. The Holiest of Beings

**Songs**

 **Vs. Aether: Halflight, Spear of the Church (Dark Souls 3 The Ringed City OST)**

 **Aether Gets Serious: Dragonslayer Armour (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Aether God Soul: Slave Knight Gael Part 1 (Dark Souls 3 The Ringed City OST)**

 **Aether God Soul Phase 2-Holy Form: Slave Knight Gael Part 2 (Dark Souls 3 The Ringed City OST)**

 **Aether Spirit Weapon: Slave Knight Gael Part 3 (Dark Souls 3 The Ringed City OST)**

 **Mira vs. Aether: Ornstein & Smough (Dark Souls OST)**

Upon opening the next set of doors, they came into a similar room, but the god sitting there was not who they were expecting.

He wore a yellow toga, covering one shoulder, had a serious disposition, and medium length white hair. He wore sandals like the other two, and had yellow eyes.

"Ah. So you're here at last."

"Aether...you're next?" Victoria asked.

"Yes. What made you think I wasn't?"

"You're the God of Light. Shouldn't you be stronger than Erebus?"

"Ha! There's nothing in this universe that can break through Erebus' darkness. And so here I am." He looked over at Laxus and Yury. "You two. Step forward." They did and looked up at him. He shrunk down to human size, 6'1". His eyes changed color to white, and he stood motionless for a brief moment, until they went back to normal.

"Ah. I see that our families' prophecy has come true more particularly than the other ones. Not just you two, but with Makarov and Ivan as well."

"And what, by chance, is our prophecy?" Yury asked.

"An Envoy of the Dreyars will become alone because of their pride and vanity." Yury glanced at Layla.

"You chose me as the embodiment of Pride in our fight."

"Because there was truth to that selection." Aether commented. "You are incredibly powerful indeed Yury, but could that also mean that you believe yourself to be invincible? After all, whatever the outcome of the war, you were so confident that Alvarez would win. You lost to Layla. Weren't you angry?"

"No. Because I wasn't positive that I could win."

"Be that as it may, you're not the only example. Makarov, your son, would not accept a loss. That's why he wanted your guild to defeat anyone in their path, and become a lead authority. Ivan, your grandson, created Raven Tail to possess Fairy Heart. And Laxus, you used to be a more malefic version of your grandfather, beating on anyone who denied your power."

"I'm long past that phase now."

"Still. The prophecy is still very much there. Since that time, you've become closer to them, and now act like them as well. If anyone threatens you or your guild, you fight them, no? It's your pride as a 'family', as you put it."

"And what do you think about it? I've noticed that you gods have been the embodiment of your prophecy's emotion. Gaia loves her family, and Uranus doesn't seem to care about them. So what do you think of us?"

"Ah, so you noticed? Well done. Yes, the prophecies are based off of our personalities. So, as you can imagine, I am proud of you for how strong you've become, but there's a limit. And your guild has passed that limit already. And so…" His eyes began glowing, as he stepped back and a yellow aura surrounded him.

"I take it upon myself to wipe you out."

"Do you now? We'll prove you wrong." Yury stepped forward, along with Laxus, Victoria, and Mira.

"I'm not sure how many of you want to participate in this fight, but this is where it's going to get harder. Trust me." Victoria advised.

"I'll help you out." Sting joined them.

"Me too." Gildarts answered.

"Let's leave this to them." Layla ordered, creating a barrier between the fighters and the rest of them.

"Why don't I start things off? Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean!" Gildarts jumped towards him and threw a punch.

"How predictable." he smiled, stopping the punch with a single finger, then flicking him back.

"What is this guy?!"

"A god." he said calmly.

'Pride, huh? I can already see the family resemblance.' Laxus growled in his head.

"Don't bother playing around with someone like him." Sting activated his Dragon Force and narrowed his eyes angrily.

"White Dragon's Holy Breath." He gathered up a large amount of light in his mouth and fired it, unleashing a huge blast that engulfed the entire room. When the light and smoke died down, Aether remained standing where he was, completely unaffected.

"What?!"

"You think that light magic will work on me? Think again."

"Says you! Holy Ray!" He created a large sphere of white light, before multiple rays shot off and flew straight towards the god. He sighed, quickly blocking all of the attacks with a single hand.

"You people don't really listen, do you?" he clasped his hands together peacefully.

"You know, this guy kind of reminds me of that light guy who said he was Zeref's son." Sting wiped his mouth.

"Rahkeid was nothing compared to him." Yury's magic power spiked, and a yellow aura surrounded him as well.

"White Shadow Dragon Force." Sting activated his dual mode as well. Gildarts enhanced his own magic power, as well as Laxus and Victoria.

"Ohh, you're getting serious now, are you? Go ahead, it won't make a bit of difference."

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Laxus fired a beam of lightning from his mouth.

"White Shadow Dragon's Blast!" Sting created light on one hand and darkness on the other, and fired them together to create a massive discharge of energy.

"All Crush!" Gildarts gathered his magic power into his hand and launched it as a burst of power.

"Light God's Bellow!" Yury fired his own beam of black light.

"Ah, here we go again." He created a barrier that completely nullified all of their attacks.

"...Victoria. We've been looking at this the wrong way. Of course Light Magic won't work against him."

"Darkness?"

"Yeah. Even if Light God Magic is the only kind that works, it's worth a try."

"...Alright then." She snapped her fingers, stopping time, and bringing Yury into her space.

"You can do create dimensions too?"

"But of course. Who do you think taught Isabella everything she knows?"

"And did you forget that I also use that kind?" Aether asked, appearing in the dimension as well. Victoria remained unfazed, but Yury was clearly surprised.

"How can you-?"

"Don't you know how Holy Magic is created? You add Light Magic to Night Magic." He answered. "So of course I know how to use it." Yury wasted no time, and fired multiple beams of light at him. Again, he deflected them with a single hand.

"You're not going to beat me like that, Yury."

"Oh, really?" He smirked, disappearing. He appeared behind him suddenly, summoning his sword and using Light God's Amaterasu, firing a beam through his god's heart.

"Gah…" He spat blood, falling over.

"You see, you're a master of light magic. As such, you are not experienced with Night Magic as much as Nyx or I are." Victoria explained. She switched dimensions back, surprising everyone.

"What?! How did you-?!" Laxus and Mira yelled at the same time.

"Just some quick thinking." Yury said.

"Quick thinking? Perhaps, but don't think something like that will work again." Aether's voice was heard as his body was lifted up into the air by light, and his wound healed, returning him to his normal self.

"No way…" Mira whispered.

"This shouldn't surprise you at this point. Gods cannot be killed, no matter how hard you try. Now then, it's time for me to fight back. I was simply standing still and acting defensively up until now, but I'm going to get serious." Light began to surround him, as he extended a finger towards them.

"Light God's Flash." His fingertip began to glow, and a blinding light shot throughout the room, making it so bright that the others had to close their eyes. "You should really be on your guard more." he laughed softly, firing a beam of light that pierced through Gildarts, making him fall over. Everyone screamed. He then lifted his middle finger and fired another beam, this time through Sting. He lifted his ring finger next and fired another one that went through…

"MIRA!" Laxus yelled as she fell backwards.

"Perhaps your pride will collapse if your love interest is removed from this fight." Aether suggested. Laxus turned to him, furious.

"Layla, heal them." He stepped forward, activating his dual mode and Dragon Force.

"Chaos Dragon's Roar!" He yelled, firing a beam of black, purple, and red lightning at the god. Aether pressed his index finger and thumb together and lowered his wrist into the palm of his other hand before firing a beam of light from the opening in his fingers that clashed and easily overpowered the lightning dragon's spell.

"Light or Darkness, it doesn't matter. You can't beat me, and you're going to be no match for Erebus."

This made the others nervous. Erebus had a reputation for being evil, and if he was stronger than the others, he would kill them without remorse.

Aether fired another beam of light from his hand sign, and Yury deflected it this time.

"Take Over: God Soul!" He activated his full power, blowing the others back. "Light God's Baldr!" He summoned his spirit weapon and absorbed black light into it, flying up to the god and slashing towards him. He stopped the blade with two fingers, and kicked his descendant back.

"You know, it's rather funny to me. Just before you came to Olympus, Ankhseram came through and complained that you had become too powerful. And I told him that the rule of Envoys is as long as they don't become stronger than their own god, they are allowed as much power as they desire. And clearly, you are nowhere near my level of strength." he taunted.

"I'll make you eat those words."

"Chaos Dragon's Battleaxe!" Laxus yelled, forming his giant weapon and electrifying it. He jumped up and swung downwards. Aether looked up and blocked the strike with his hand.

"Night Goddess' Blast!" Victoria fired a beam of purple energy at him, to which he blocked with his other hand.

"Light God's Horus!" Yury created his blacklight greatsword, and rushed up behind him, slashing him in half.

"Not...again…" Both halves fell onto the ground, a large pool of blood staining the floor.

"Nice job." Victoria complimented.

"Thanks, but it's not worth anything because he's still under her control. The two halves became surrounded by light and joined back together, the blood pool shrinking and disappearing as if it was never there.

"So it's come to this? Very well then, you leave me no choice. **God Soul."** Aether, as well as Victoria, Laxus, and Yury were transported into his dimension, an endless yellow space. He grew to his full size, and his eyes flashed yellow.

"So this is where it gets hard, I'm guessing?!" Laxus yelled.

"No! Not yet!" She replied. He held his hand over them, and a giant light laser shot down, chasing them around as they ran away.

"Victoria, this is getting kind of ridiculous! You should have told us more about these guys!" Yury yelled, jumping out of the way, now that the beam had split into three different ones, one following each of them.

"Well I'm sorry, but I never fought against them before! All Aether and Nyx did was teach me!"

"How about next time you show up to warn us about the end of the world, you tell us more about the gods that we fight against!" Laxus yelled at her next.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll write it down on my schedule!" she replied sarcastically. She dodged the laser again, and jumped up to him, kicking him in the face. It didn't really hurt him though.

" **I might have taught you, but you are not stronger than me, Victoria."**

"This isn't getting me anywhere. Take Over: God Soul!" She became engulfed in a gold and white aura.

"Holy God's Trident!" Victoria summoned a trident enveloped in white light. "Extend!" She swiped her weapon to the side, making it much bigger, the size of a God's Spirit Weapon. She twirled it with ease before smacking Aether in the face with the back of the weapon, knocking him off balance, falling onto his side. She twirled it again and stabbed him through the stomach with it.

" **GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"** He grabbed it and pulled it out of himself, the wound healing.

"Contract." She made the trident normal size again.

" **You're not bad. In terms of strength, you may be stronger than Yury. You're certainly smarter than everyone else."**

"Thanks, but that comment doesn't mean anything, because it's coming from you Isabella."

" **Oh, that hurts, mother."** She spoke through him.

"I'm sure you're aware, but I'm here to stop you."

" **And you will fail."** Aether stood up again, his wound completely healed, and his own personality coming back.

" **It seems that this form isn't enough to overpower you. So…God Soul Phase 2: Holy Form!"** His dimension changed again, becoming golden and white, and his appearance changed again. His whole body started glowing, and his toga disappeared, replaced by golden armor with a white trim. His eyes glowed white for a brief moment before returning to normal. He shrunk back down to normal size, and the rest of the group was transported into the dimension.

" **You seem to be somewhat confused. You were not aware that God Souls could be evolved further, were you?"**

"Gaia said that your God Soul is revealing your true selves, your ultimate form." Yury said.

" **Yes, that's true. But it's also possible to transform into our true forms in stages. It depends on what we draw power from. My previous form was what I look like at the peak of my power when relying solely on Light Magic. This form, however, is what I look like when using the true power of Holy Magic as well. My absolute divine form, Holy God Soul."** His armor began to radiate white magic power as he slowly walked towards them.

"Laxus. THIS is where it gets hard." Victoria told him.

"Oh, really?!" He growled.

" **Come at me."** Aether taunted.

"And die? I'd rather not." Yury replied.

"Well, what choice do we have? Otherwise, he'll just attack us. And besides, we have to knock my daughter out of his mind." Victoria rushed at him, swinging her trident again. But this time, he shattered it with a swipe of his hand. He then punched her, sending her reeling backwards, collapsing on the ground.

"Grandma!" Lucy ran over. "Are you alright?!"

"No….he vaporized some of my internal organs….." she murmured weakly.

"Heal her!" She turned to Zeref and Silver.

"We can't! The wounds have to be physical, if there's nothing there, we can't restore them.

"It's fine…...just give me your magic power, and I can use my healing…" she gasped. They didn't argue, and transferred some of their power to her, as she healed herself with a golden aura, recreating the body parts that she lost.

" **An ultimately fruitless effort. I can hurt you again just as easily."** He continued walking towards them.

"Oh, really?!" Laxus activated Dragon Force and his Dual Mode again, and Yury once again used his God Soul.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Eternal Void!" Laxus crossed his arms and moved them outwards, streams of darkness covering the dimension, making it hard for anyone to see. He nodded to Yury, who used Light God's Apollo to absorb black light, also making it hard to see him.

"Light God's Hyperion!" He created the strongest version of his spirit weapon, which also absorbed black light, making it even stronger. Laxus and Yury teleported behind him, readying their attacks.

"Chaos Dragon's Heavenward Battleaxe!" Laxus created his giant double bladed battle axe, electrified with purple lightning. He swung it horizontally, knocking Aether away. Yury then flew in, using his sword to smack the god down onto the ground.

" **Is that all?"** he asked calmly again.

"Not quite. Holy God's Kongō!" Victoria's trident evolved, and became enveloped in blinding light and electricity, cutting through the darkness. She impaled Aether again and electrocuted him, weakening him.

" **So you're...strong enough to use that weapon…? You're impressive...Victoria Heartfilia...truly, you're a powerful mage…"** He pulled the weapon out of him and the wound quickly healed.

" **Very well then...you leave me no choice but to use this. Holy God's Staff."** A wheel of light formed behind him, similar to Yury's, but with ancient rune-like characters written on it. He summoned a staff as well. The bottom of it was shaped like a thin pyramid, as well the bottom of the ornament, that merged into the top of the ornament, making it look like a large Vajra. The object itself was a golden sphere, continuously rotating around a large red ruby, producing a brilliant red light. Placed around the sphere was a ring that looked like the sun, even with curved parts sticking out, representing rays. At the very top of the sun-like adornment was a small emblem that looked like a small trident, with three points.

" **This is no ordinary staff. It is a mystical weapon. Its power comes from this gem, the Syamantaka. Ages ago, in the early civilizations of Earth, the Hindus believed it to be the most sacred gem in the universe, a gift given to them by their sun god. It was said that whoever possesses it would protect both themselves and their land from any and all natural disasters, create 170 pounds of gold a day, and grant the user the power to wield light energy. All of these things it can do, of course. But I am the one who created it, and it will always be in my custody."** The gem continued giving off red light, powering Aether up significantly, making his eyes glow red.

"Holy God's Kongō!" she cried again, forming her strongest spirit weapon, and clashing with Aether's own. While neither broke, it was clear that his weapon was the more powerful. "Take him now!" she called out to the others.

Laxus and Yury once again ran towards him.

"That goes for the rest of you! Use everything you've got!"

"Light God's Hyperion!"

"Chaos Dragon's Heavenward Battleaxe!" They both swung from the back, but Aether narrowed his eyes, making more light discharge off of the gem, knocking them back again.

"You guys need to help too! We can't do this on our own!" Laxus yelled.

"Take Over: God Soul!" Irene, Zeref, and Silver used their own transformations.

"Dragon Force!" Wendy and Rogue activated their strongest forms.

"Iron Shadow Dragon Force!"

"White Shadow Dragon Force!"

"All Crush!"

"True Heavenly Body Magic!" Both Jellal and Mystogan powered up their magic, gaining yellow and purple auras around themselves.

"Requip! Nakagami Armor!"

"Water Make!"

"Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fists!"

"Black Star Dragon Force!"

"Take Over: God Soul!"

"Etherious Form!"

"Satan Soul: Mirajane Alegria!"

"Star Dress: Spirit King Form!"

"Star Dress: Leo Form!"

"Earth Goddess' Staff!" Irene summoned her spirit weapon and fired a green energy blast towards him.

"Darkness God's Twin Daggers!" Zeref summoned his spirit weapons and ran up to the god, beginning to slash towards him, making him step back, allowing Victoria to gather her strength again.

"Heaven God's Renditional Blades" Silver summoned his spirit weapons and merged them together, creating his greatsword, flying up and slashing. Aether tapped his staff onto the ground, making more rays of red light from the Syamantaka, instantly defeating Zeref and Silver.

"Shattering Light: Sky Drill!" Wendy used her strongest spell to create a massive wind blast that pushed him back. Aether sighed and pointed his staff at her, firing another red light beam that easily shattered through her spell and injured her.

"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!" Rogue disappeared into the shadow world, quickly slipping behind the god and wrapping himself around him, shadows starting to pierce through him. His body glowed golden as Rogue was sent flying back to the others, knocked out as well.

"Karma Demon: Iron Shadow God Sword!" Gajeel clasped his hands together above his head, merging them into a sword covered in shadows. He jumped and swiped downwards, preparing to do something to the god. But he once again effortlessly held his free hand up and caught the spell, channeling light through it that destroyed Gajeel.

"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" Sting started stitching his magic threads through the god, who remained unaffected and fired a beam of light from his staff again.

"All Crush!" Gildarts unleashed a beam of energy at him, and then kept running. Aether absorbed the light, but then found the S-Class Mage in front of him.

"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Absolute Heaven!" He slammed his prosthetic fist into the god, creating an explosion. His arm became limp afterwards and unusable.

"Looks like I'll be out for a while…"

" **Yes. You will be."** Gildarts punch didn't make a scratch on his armor, as he twirled his staff and tapped Gildarts in the chest with it, knocking him unconscious.

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis!" Mystogan created a black hole that he sent towards him.

'That spell wasn't affected by some of Yury's light. Maybe it will keep him busy.'

He flicked a particle of holy magic into it, dispersing the entire thing, and then firing another one at Mystogan, finishing him off.

"Jiu Leixing!" Jellal cast nine swords of light that all closed in on Aether, creating a large explosion.

"Not done yet! True Heavenly Body Magic: Grand Chariot!" Jellal cast two dozen magic circles that rained down on him. He created a force field that blocked all of them before creating an ethereal clone that appeared floating behind him and kicked him down to the ground, then evaporating.

"Nakagami Starlight!" Erza flew at him and swiped her halberd, hoping to do something. He caught her weapon as well, wrenching it from her hands and examining it.

" **This weapon can cut through space, can it? You were hoping to overcome me with that feature, weren't you? Sorry to break it to you, but this is not the same kind of space as what you're used to."** He tossed the lance back over to her.

" **This is a separate dimension that can only be controlled by me. It is not space that you can simply manipulate."** Instead of using magic like he did against the others, his staff disappeared, and he gathered energy into his gauntlet, smashing it into Erza's stomach, breaking right through her lance and armor.

"Gah…" she coughed out blood and was hurled back.

"Er...za…" Jellal muttered, watching.

" **You can't win this, Fairy Tail. You won't even be able to get to him."**

"Water Nebula!" Juvia created a vortex of waves that engulfed Aether.

" **You can't drown me."**

"Juvia's not trying to!" Nothing else was working, so she had to try her new technique. She bent down and formed a sphere of water in one hand, and bit her thumb on her other hand hard enough to draw blood, letting a few drops of the liquid fall into the sphere.

"Juvia, what are you doing?" Gray asked.

"A new spell Juvia created. But Juvia needs some time to get it ready, and she's not sure it will work."

"We'll buy you time then!" Gray ran up to the god and began punching him with his ice gauntlets. As expected, they didn't do anything to him.

" **You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves."** He kicked Gray away and fired a beam of light into the ground that manifested a light cage around him, preventing him from going anywhere.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Celestial Crusher!" Vera surrounded her leg in darkness and flew into him as fast as she could, actually knocking him back. He swung his staff at her, but she grinned as her body disappeared.

"Death God's Odin!" Mavis impaled him with her strongest spear, while Natsu ran up front in his END Form, punching him in the face. He continued beating him, not allowing him to move with him stuck on Mavis' spear.

"Regulus!" Anna fell from above, charging Leo's light into her fist, punching his head.

" **ENOUGH!"** He yelled, unleashing a massive burst of light that knocked all of them away. He quickly and forcefully pulled the spear out of him and tossed it away. The wound closed up, and he re-summoned his spirit weapon.

"Meteor Blade!"

"Star Dragon's Roar!"

"UNISON RAID!" Lucy and Vera yelled together, a huge blast of blue and yellow energy rushing towards him. Aether retaliated with a beam of red light from his staff that overpowered their spell, then widened its range and knocked both of them over.

"Night Goddess' Artemis!" Layla formed her spirit weapon and fired an arrow at him. It broke through his armor and sent him flying back.

"Spread Shot: Enclose!" She turned her bow to the side and fired five arrows, which all turned towards him and exploded once they made contact.

"Juvia, do it now!" Layla yelled as she got hit with a beam of red light as well.

"Water Manipulation: Blood!" She threw the sphere at him, but it only succeeded in splashing when it got on him. The liquid quickly got absorbed into his body, making Juvia smirk as he suddenly froze in place.

" **What...did you do to me?"**

"Juvia used her new spell on you. She made it just for you deities. Victoria-san told us that any liquid that gets on you will instantly be absorbed into your bodies involuntarily. Even if it's not your own blood. So, since only Yury-sama's magic can hurt you, Juvia just used her own blood, so that when it hit you, you would take it in. And now, there's a little bit of it inside of your body. And as long as it's there, Juvia can use that blood to control you!"

He stood still for a moment before laughing.

" **Foolish girl. Observe."** His body vibrated before becoming astral, and they could see the small amount of blood and water she used drop out of him and onto the floor. His body turned back.

" **Have you forgotten? My sister and I, and our parents. We are not the others. We command metaphysical elements. We can become our elements whenever we wish."**

"Juvia's aware."

" **Then why-?"** He was cut off as Mira clashed with him, surprising him greatly.

" **I see! So that's what you were up to!"**

"Everything we've done so far was to distract you." Mira growled, creating darkness energy on both hands and firing it point blank. When the blast died down, they were still in the same position, but Mira had wounds inflicted on her.

" **All you're doing is hurting yourself! I can't be beaten by your magic!"**

She didn't listen and kept firing blasts, hurting herself over and over.

" **Didn't you hear me?! Why don't you listen?!"**

" **I DON'T CARE! I'LL SHOW YOU THAT I CAN HURT YOU!"** she screamed. Her magic power kept rising, overwhelming the others' senses.

" **WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"**

" **BEATING YOU!"** Her magic started to change colors, and her Satan Soul left her, but her energy kept rising.

"I...can't…" Lucy muttered, passing out, along with most of the others. Only the Envoys remained active.

'Is that…?' Victoria asked herself. 'She's…!'

Mira didn't even realize it herself, but her body had begun to adopt a magic cloak of her own, as her magic power became a yellow-orange and broke through his armor. She punched him, knocking him back and injuring him.

'Now!'

"Light God's Hyperion!" Yury formed his spirit weapon and flew up behind the god, slicing into his back with the sword, making Aether fall over. He stood over him and gathered his remaining light energy into his foot, slamming it onto his head. The purple swirl of chaos magic left his body, and Mira fell back, unconscious.

" **Ugh...what happened?"** He slowly woke up.

"Isabella was controlling you." He remained silent, and undid his God Soul, bringing them back to the throne room.

He stood up and healed himself, going back to sit on his throne.

"You all survived?"

"Yes." He looked over at Mira. "That magic...did you feel it?"

"Yes. It was God Magic."

"Indeed. And it was able to hurt me. That was my sister's magic. Daylight God Magic. She doesn't know, does she?"

"I don't think so. Otherwise, she would have tried to use it before now."

"I see. Don't tell her. It's up to Hemera to inform her." Yury nodded, and Aether blasted healing magic into everyone, making them slowly stand up. All except for one.

"Hm...how curious." He stood up and walked over to Mira's body.

"Is she alright?" Laxus asked.

"She's breathing, at least. She's exhausted herself. I can tell that she's used more magic power in the past week than most of you put together."

"Her Alegria is a pretty new form, it takes a lot out of her each time she uses it." Layla said.

"And she just pushed herself to the limit fighting me."

'She almost achieved a God Soul of her own.'

"She's healed, and has no wounds, but needs to rest. If you'd like, you can leave her here with me."

"I'll stay with her too. We'll catch up later." Laxus said, sitting down next to her and laying her head in his lap.

"Alright then." They kept walking to the back of the room.

"You all should be really careful." Aether advised.

"Yeah, we know. You said Erebus is next, right? And that he's really strong?" Zeref asked.

"It's not just his strength or magic to fear. The most dangerous thing about him is his personality. Good luck."

Zeref stared at him for a minute before continuing on, taking the lead.

'Time to get revenge.' Natsu gritted his teeth angrily.

 **End.**


	27. Lord of Darkness, King of Despair

**Chapter 545 just came out, and it was nice that it was so long, but it's not quite the type of epilogue you'd expect. It's only a year later, and basically all of the main ships have become canon, but it's not a timeskip epilogue with the next generation, like many. Nonetheless, I'm happy that Laxus and Mira and Kinana and Erik are a thing now, but a little disappointed that Natsu and Lucy still didn't kiss. I'm hoping with the final season of Fairy Tail coming in 2018, they change a few things. This story is going to have a different epilogue. Anyways, here's the Erebus chapter at last. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Nightmare Visions: Lullaby for Mergo (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Erebus Introduction: Hail the Nightmare (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Vs. Erebus: Deacons of the Deep (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Erebus God Soul: Nameless King Part 1 (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **Erebus Spirit Weapon: Nameless King Part 2 (Dark Souls 3 OST) [The second part was not on the official soundtrack, you'll have to search for it specifically on youtube. There's multiple versions.]**

 **Vs. Possessed Zeref, Natsu, & Vera: Darkeater Midir (Dark Souls 3 Ringed City OST)**

 **Mira and Aether's Conversation: Child of Chaos (Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn OST)**

 **Mira : A Grasping Truth (Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn OST)**

 **Mira and Layla vs. Vera: Standing up on Roaring Earth (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Anna's Death & Vs. Erebus Armored Form: Lorian, Elder Prince & Lothric, Younger Prince (Dark Souls 3 OST) [Just keep looping it until you get sick of it]**

"I can't see anything." Lucy complained.

"And you were expecting to? He's the God of Darkness, Lucy. It's right in the name." Silver sighed.

"You'd think he could at least light a few candles." They continued on in silence until Lucy gasped.

"Lucy? What happened?" her mother asked. There was no response.

' **Lucy Heartfilia…'** An ominous and deep voice whispered.

'What…? What just happened? I can't move...whose voice is that…? I can't speak…' She still couldn't see anything. Couldn't smell anything, couldn't feel anything. Wait...she could see something now. It looked like Mira and her mother. Layla ignited her claw and impaled her straight through her chest.

'MIRAAAAAA!' Lucy screamed in her mind. Her mouth felt like it was taped shut. Her friend fell over and her mother stepped over her. The scene faded out, before seeing Natsu standing in front of her again, along with Erza, Gray, Mira, and Laxus. He suddenly transformed into his Etherious Form, and became attacking all of them. Erza sliced in two, Gray's neck broken, Laxus incinerated, Mira ripped in half. Literally.

But she couldn't do anything. A red glow appeared in the distance, and began getting closer, separating into two lights, before revealing themselves to be someone's eyes. Natsu's eyes. His teeth were bared, his claws sharpened, his demeanor imposing. He walked up and growled before shoving his hand through her chest as well. Everything suddenly ended, seeming like nothing more than a nightmare. Lucy found herself able to speak again, and instantly fell to her knees screaming and crying.

"Lucy?!" Layla called out, able to see her daughter now as the darkness brightened up a bit. She ran over to her before feeling the same sensations.

" _How could you? Traitor!"_ __Gildarts yelled, before he got cut down by her. The next thing she saw was Silver getting crushed by Deliora's fist and dying. And then Irene committing suicide.

'What is all of this? Why am I...seeing these things?'

' **Layla...your life's most traumatic moments, your innermost fears...they will break you.'**

"Layla…!" Zeref was just killed by Isabella, then Vera and Lucy. Her mother walked towards her until they stood face to face.

"You are nothing compared to me. What a disappointment." She broke out of the trance as well as soon as the chaos god swiped her hand upwards, cutting apart her body with a massive wound.

Following after her daughter, she collapsed onto the ground, sobbing. The others turned around and all felt the same restricting presence, watching their innermost horrors play out before their eyes. After watching, they all fell over, feeling drained of their stamina and positivity. The next thing they heard were footsteps calmly and gradually approaching.

"Fear is so fascinating, isn't it?" the same voice from before called out. They glanced up as much as they could, witnessing two blood red sinister looking luminous eyes drifting across the blackness. Strangely enough, even though they clearly belonged to a person, it felt like there was no other body there. Almost as if the person was transparent. They stopped in between Lucy and Layla, hovering in the air.

"You two are the ones who defy me." He recited, before grabbing their hair rather forcefully and gathering all of the darkness around him, transforming into a terrifying black monster with multiple arms, and an enormous mouth and huge fangs. He roared, causing Lucy to scream and Layla to cry.

"Hehehe…" He let go of them and lifted the rest of the darkness, absorbing it and transforming back into his human form, standing at 6'3". He sneered, sitting down in his throne. The room was now visible, the same as the others with a black color scheme. Erebus wore a black toga, black boots, and a tattered black cloak, a hood covering his face.

"You see, it doesn't matter how strong you are, everyone is afraid of something. Even Isabella. Everyone except for me, that is."

"Oh really? And how's that?" Natsu growled, bending down and tending to Lucy.

"Think about yourselves. Think back to when you were just children. You were all afraid of something."

'Igneel…'

'Papa…'

'Deliora…'

'Jellal…'

"I can see it in your eyes. You all had something, no matter how insignificant and what kind of fear it was, that you were afraid of. And so what did you do to overcome those fears? You became stronger. That's what you mortals do. But it's all for naught. It matters not how powerful you become, as there is always something that you dread."

"What do we have to be afraid of?" Zeref asked, stepping forward.

"How about losing your wife and daughter?" he asked, making him flinch. "And that's just a start. Killing people unintentionally? Embracing your curse? You've been afraid of that your whole life." He glanced at the others.

"Losing loved ones is always the obvious one. But, there's others. Succumbing to your demonic powers, feeling inadequate, the fear of death...there's so many." He looked at Natsu, Layla, and Silver.

"You've died twice now, and you still don't want to, do you?" he asked the ice mage. "And having Jellal turn evil again? We wouldn't want that happening now, would we?" he teased Erza. He curled his fingers, making Natsu and Zeref float over to his throne, thanks to the darkness carrying them.

"As I said, even Isabella is afraid of losing, thanks to her personality complexes. Gods are able to fear losing loved ones as well. But I am no such being. That's what makes me different from all of the others. Even Uranus, who doesn't care much for his family, cares enough that he wants them to live. But I, myself...well, Natsu, why don't you explain?"

"You motherfucker…you were the one that made me do that...you made me kill Lucy!" Everyone gasped, remaining silent, before Erebus' maniacal laughter filled the room.

"That's right! And I'm rather angry that my sister insisted on bringing you back to life…" he grumbled. "Yes, as soon as Isabella's control wore off, I took action, and forced you into a berserker form of END, forcing you to slaughter everyone and kill off your beloved by your own hands." Lucy began crying again. "And I was also the one making Zeref lose control when he fought against you." Zeref and Layla gritted their teeth.

"You see, this is my predicament. Ever since this Envoy arrangement began 742 years ago, I wanted mine to become like me. Free of fear, and powered by darkness. The Dragneel Prophecy states that members of my family become alone because when they fight, their personalities become darker, turning them into berserkers that will betray all of their friends. But none of you have really gone through that transformation. Of course, Lydia was quite the user of darkness magic herself, but you, Zeref, are the one that I've been waiting for. As soon as you revived your brother and became cursed, you became the perfect specimen for me to groom. After all, you couldn't control your curse, and eventually your loneliness became maddening, as you were killing everyone around you. You and Natsu were so close to crossing that threshold, when you were fighting each other. But then…" He held his hand out in a semi closed fist, darkness suddenly surrounding Layla. It lifted her body off the ground and quickly flew her over, as the god grabbed her throat forcefully, crushing the wind out of her.

"IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU!" He roared, standing up and slamming her body against the wall.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Zeref yelled, his black and red magic power rushing around him. He blasted a wave of darkness towards him, hitting Erebus in the back. He stopped, and tossed her over to them.

"Layla!" Zeref caught her. She was unconscious, her body beaten and bloodied.

"M-Mom…..!" Lucy cried again. Erebus sat back down in his throne. Zeref healed her, her wounds slowly disappearing.

"You guys stay back…..this is personal….." he growled, standing up and walking towards him.

"Sorry to say, but you're not the only one who's going to kick his ass. I don't care if he's our forefather or not!" Natsu stood at his side.

"Me too….if he's the one who messed up Dad, then he hurt mom and caused Rahkeid's death…." Vera stepped forward as well.

"Perfect. I wouldn't ask for any other opponents than you three." he smirked. He lifted his hood, showing his face. He was kind of scruffy, with short black hair and piercing red eyes that instilled terror in any he looked at.

"Well then? Come. Show me what you can do."

"My pleasure!" Natsu gathered fire into his hands and rushed up to him, throwing a punch at his face. He hit an invisible wall, and was repelled, leaving Erebus untouched and unfazed. Vera ran up and did the same, but also hit a barrier. Zeref looked at Mavis and waved her over.

"I need something from you."

"What is it?"

"Fairy Heart."

"What?! Zeref-!" she stepped back.

"I know, I know! But I don't see any other way of being able to stand against him! This isn't like before! I'm going to need that power to fight Erebus and Isabella! So gather up as much magic power as you can while I fight him!" He didn't leave her any time to answer, running off and firing waves of darkness at his god. They were blocked once again.

'He's using Darkness God's Wall. The only thing that can break through that barrier is…'

"Darkness God's Twin Daggers!" He created his spirit weapons and tossed one of them at the god, breaking through the barrier. He caught it with his fingers, stopping it short, but it left enough time for Natsu to hit him across the face in Dual Mode, and Vera to kick him through his throne using Star Dragon Slaying Magic.

"Damn, did that feel good. But I'm not done yet. Not even close." Natsu recited, his lightning sparking around him.

"Well then...how interesting." Erebus slowly stood back up. He stared at his descendant. "You are such a hypocrite. No wonder why Layla chose you to represent Wrath."

"What the hell are you going on about?"

"Do you not realize it? It should be obvious. Every single enemy you've fought, don't you always give a speech about how your friends are your strength? How you fight for them? You're not doing that right now. You've never really done it. You always fight out of anger."

"BULLSHIT! I fight because my opponents hurt Fairy Tail, my family!"

"And this fight?"

"I'm fighting because you took control of me and made me kill Lucy!"

"But she was brought back to life. Face it, the reason that you're fighting me is nothing more than self-satisfaction. It can't even be classified as revenge because what I did resolved itself."

"That doesn't lessen the blow at all. What you did was awful. I heard mixed things about the Gods back on Earthland; that some of you appreciate your families, while some of you don't give a damn. You were one of those, and I didn't care. It's not like I needed you in my life, so I thought you would just be indifferent, but this is something else entirely! You went out of your way to manipulate me and kill the one I love! That's not something that I can just forgive! As far as I'm concerned, you're not a part of your family!"

"A naive declaration. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't exist."

"We don't care." Vera said, stepping forward. "It seems to me like anytime you gods are losing an argument, you pull the 'if it weren't for me' assertion out of your ass. But it doesn't matter. Because you can't rewind time and change the future. The fact is that you obeyed Chaos, got with someone down on Earthland, and started our line. And we are who we are. Now stop talking about Hypotheticals, and fight us. Dragon Force." Gold aura began bursting around her.

"...Very well. **God Soul."** Instead of growing to his regular size, and swapping dimensions like the others, he remained at his current height and surrounded himself in darkness. His toga disappeared, and instead his body became covered in black and gray wrappings, flowing off of him, and covered in black magic power, while his eyes glowed red again.

" **Look at me, Zeref. This is what you could have become."**

"...He will never...be like you…" Layla mumbled, barely audible.

"Mom! Are you alright?!" Lucy asked, running up to her.

"I've been better…"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you." Victoria began healing her as well.

"Mavis!" Zeref yelled.

"Ready!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yes! You said to gather as much magic power as I could!"

"Great! Now hold still!" He ran up to her and placed a hand on her head, beginning to absorb her magic power. Mavis began to feel her consciousness fading, before falling onto the floor.

"Heal her too, while you're at it." Zeref glanced at Victoria. "She'll live, but this magic will live inside of me from now on. Fairy Heart!" Zeref became engulfed in a column of white light that pulsated throughout the room and through part of Olympus. A blinding light flashed, and then faded, as Zeref gently landed on the ground, in a new form.

He now wore an outfit similar to his previous black military uniform, but completely white. White pants with a gold pattern on them, as well as a white coat with the same markings, and metal collar pieces that stood also had pure white wings on his back, made of magic power, and his hair had changed color to white, spiked back. His eyes were also completely faded, almost looking as if he were blind, yet still clearly able to see. He stepped forward, facing his ancestor.

" **So you attained the power that you have been looking for. Sorry to break it to you, but it is still not strong enough to beat me."**

"Nothing is strong enough to beat you. You're a god, you're immortal. And you know what? I am too." he smirked. He held up a hand, and a wave of light magic, far bigger than anything he could produce before, swirled off of his hand, and blasted Erebus back.

" **Darkness God's Wave."** Erebus retaliated with his own burst of energy, blasting through Zeref. But he quickly reformed, having not taken any damage.

" **Time Magic."**

"That's right. Nothing you do will be able to hurt me now."

" **Oh, you think so? Darkness God's Curved Blades."** Erebus formed two serrated swords, and held one up, and the other one down.

"So you're going to use your Spirit Weapons?" Zeref asked.

" **These?** He asked, holding them up. **"These are not my spirit weapons. They are yours."**

"What?"

" **Didn't you notice while fighting the other gods? Their spirit weapons are different from yours. Spirit weapons can have multiple evolutions. Envoys are only granted the first stage, as you are only given a portion of our powers. All other gods have another form on top of the first, except for Nyx, who has three."**

"Darkness God's Twin Daggers." Zeref created his own spirit weapons, despite being smaller in size.

" **Yes, that's about all that you're able to manifest, isn't it? To me, those are nothing. You can't even make them full swords like I can."**

"It doesn't matter, because you can still get hurt by these." He tossed one up and caught it by the tip, before tossing it at the god, who moved his head to dodge it. In an instant, Zeref reappeared on the wall, grabbing his dagger and rushing down, slashing the god across the back before the wound healed.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Celestial Crusher!" Vera slammed into his chest with a great deal of force, knocking him back.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade!" Natsu yelled, gathering flames on one hand, and lightning on the other, firing them in a spiral of energy. The three landed next to each other again.

" **You're still not using your full strengths. Your Black Star Dragon Force, your Etherious Form, your God Soul...why are you not using them?"**

"To conserve stamina. Besides, you're already in your god soul. If we don't need to defeat you using our full strength, then we won't."

" **I see...then perhaps I should stop measuring your strength and begin using my own."** He crossed the blades, gathering darkness into them, while his own body turned transparent. He teleported behind them, and sliced at Vera, who narrowly dodged it by ducking.

"You stay away from her!" Zeref yelled. But Erebus tossed his other sword into Zeref, impaling him through the stomach.

"GAH….!"

'But...my time magic didn't work?!'

"Zeref…" Layla gasped, tears running down her face.

" **Time magic does not matter to me. Spirit weapons hit mortals no matter what kind of magic they try to use to stop it."** He teleported to Zeref and pulled the sword out of him.

" **Perhaps your wounds do heal automatically, but it doesn't matter if I stab you through your head."** He lifted his sword over him.

"No! Dad!" Vera ran towards him using Meteor, but she just fazed right through. Erebus thrust the blade downward, scaring Layla and Vera.

"Pleiades!" Out of desperation, Vera shot multiple beams of light at him, which he quickly blocked, preventing Zeref's death.

'Projectiles work?' Vera asked herself.

"Jiu Leixing!" She created golden swords that went and impaled him, before she pulled the sword out of her father and healed his wounds. Zeref used the opportunity to jump up and slash Erebus multiple times with his spirit weapons. Natsu transformed into his Etherious form.

"Fire Demon's Fury!" He blasted a dark red wave of fire out of his mouth, pushing him back against the wall.

" **Ugh...how annoying. Very well then. Darkness God's Scythe."** Erebus easily dispersed the flames, and Erebus' swords vanished into thin air, and were replaced by a large sharp scythe, again surrounded in black magic.

Zeref ran at him again and slashed with his daggers, but was easily knocked back with a single swing of the scythe.

" **Darkness God's Surge!"** He gathered more magic into his weapon before swinging it across the floor, launching a red wave of energy that cut right through it and went towards the three. They all dodged, and Erebus rushed towards Vera, cutting her by swinging upwards.

"GAHHHHH!"

"VERAAAAAAA!" Zeref screamed, catching her.

"D….Daddy…." she mumbled, looking up at him.

"Vera, don't worry! Darkness God's Healing!" Erebus slashed Zeref, and then Natsu, making them fall back as well.

"Damn it….."

' **Just as planned.'**

Zeref healed himself, and then finished healing Vera and then Natsu.

"You're gonna get it for hurting my daughter…" Zeref growled.

" **It's already too late. Thanks to those wounds, a bit of my magic power is inside each of you."**

"Meaning? Your powers have been a part of me since I was born."

" **It's not quite the same. As I mentioned before, our magic is comparable, but not identical. My magic power is the darkest there is. And now that it's in there, I can use it to use you."**

"What?!"

" **You are the only one who can injure me. So if you're on my side, then who can defeat me? Better yet, I can use you to kill them."** He grinned. **"Darkness God's Control."**

For a moment, everything was normal, until Vera felt her magic power spike involuntarily.

"What…? What's happening to me…?! I can't….control my…..!" A thick black aura surrounded her, and her eyes began to glow red, a common trait of dark mages.

"Vera! Are you...?!" Zeref was cut off by her scream of bloodlust. Natsu suddenly felt himself become angrier as well, as dark magic began to swirl around him too, making him berserk. The same thing happened to Zeref as well.

"Zeref!" Anna stepped forward.

"Vera, what's wrong?!" Layla asked, her strength returned to her.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled.

" **Oh, they can't hear you anymore. They belong to me now. Take them down."**

They wasted no time in attacking. Anna dodged Zeref's strike, and Layla Natsu's. Vera teleported behind Lucy and kicked her down onto the ground.

"Ah! Vera!" Lucy screamed as her sister stood over her, gathering light into her hand.

"Star Dress: Leo Form!" Anna used her borrowed key to put on her Star Dress and kick Zeref back using Regulus.

"Fire Devil's Scorching Sword!" Layla summoned her blue fire rapier as Natsu attacked her with his claw. She dodged the blow, and slashed him across the torso, making him bleed profusely. But he completely ignored it and rushed in again, surprising her. She still dodged and slashed him again, but he seemed to be unaffected by his wounds.

"Sorry, Lucy. Fire Devil's Claw." She ignited her hand with blue fire and impaled him, finally knocking him out, falling forward.

" **Weakling. Get up."** Erebus' magic surrounded Natsu and healed his wounds, making him get up again and go after Layla.

"Star Dress: Spirit King Form!" Lucy went into her strongest transformation, and held her sword in front of her, blocking a kick from Vera, and pushing her back. She sped around to her back and kicked towards Lucy again, who spun around and blocked it with her sword again, but was then kicked by a copy of her from her other side.

"Black Pleiades." Vera shot multiple black beams at her big sister, who slashed the spirit king's blade, launching a wave of dark blue energy that overcame the opposing attack. The two Veras cornered Lucy again and created Death Orbs in their hands.

"Vera, please…!" Lucy begged. Erza lept towards her, slashing her sword, but the young girl merely caught the blade with her hand, spun around and kicked her back.

' **Hmm….what an excellent specimen. Perhaps I should transfer more power to her.'**

Zeref blasted light and dark waves successively at Anna, who kept dodging them. She channeled Regulus throughout her whole body, and continuously struck Zeref, but didn't seem to knock him out of his trance.

"What do we do? Nothing's working…" The three backed up, while the three Dragneels continued towards them.

 **X**

"Mm…...huh?" Mira slowly regained consciousness. "Where...am I? What happened?"

"You were out for a while." Laxus told her. She looked around herself, finding that she was lying against him.

"Out? Oh yeah...Aether...what happened?"

"You and Yury defeated him."

"What…? I did?"

'Yes." Her eyes widened, looking up to find Aether sitting above them.

"Aether…" She looked around, realizing that it was just the three of them in the room.

"Mirajane Strauss...You have a particularly special power inside of you."

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously, standing up and examining herself, noticing that all of her wounds were healed and her magic power restored.

"Were you not aware of it? At our final clash, your Satan Soul spell left you, and was replaced by a far stronger type of magic that was able to damage me."

"Oh yeah...that. What was that?"

"I did not believe it myself, but it was Daylight Goddess Magic. It seems that Hemera, my sister, entrusted her strength to you when you were born, meaning that you are the sixth envoy of the primordials."

"Wh-What…? ME?!" she screamed.

"Yes. You almost achieved a God Soul of your own when you punched through my holy armor."

She stared at her hand for a moment before closing it into a fist and trying to manifest the power again. But nothing happened.

"God Magic is not something you can just expect to use immediately. You'll have to train to become as proficient as the others. Especially since it's the opposite element of your usual one."

"Oh...yes, that makes sense."

"But, I'm afraid we don't have that kind of time right now. I can sense it: Erebus has taken control of his descendants, and the only way to liberate them is with a pure light magic."

"Then...couldn't Victoria just do it?"

"No. Holy Magic is made from Night Magic and Light Magic, meaning that there is already darkness inside of it."

"Then what about just plain old Light Magic?"

"It can corrupt as well. Just look at Yury." She looked down sadly. "There is no purer form of magic out there than Daylight. It is quite possibly the only kind that is able to break through Erebus' darkness."

"But...you just said that there's no time to train me. What do we do?"

"I'm Hemera's brother. Since we are related by blood, I have a limited knowledge of Daylight magic as well, and she has taught me a few basic spells in the past. I am going to transfer my knowledge to you, allowing you to use a fair amount of her power. Any further knowledge you seek will have to be from either one of the other Envoys, or Hemera herself."

"I see...thank you very much!"

"It's no problem. You have to use this power to fight against Isabella as well, so it's good that you get as strong as you can as quickly as possible." Without warning, he extended his arm and shot a great deal of golden energy into her body, creating a huge pillar of yellow and orange light that engulfed her.

"Mira! Are you alright?!" Laxus called out.

"Y-Yeah! It's fine, it just tickles a little-WOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed excitedly, absorbing all of the power into her body, before gracefully landing on the ground.

"Are you...alright?" he asked.

"Yeah...I can't believe this...holy shit...is this what it feels like to have the power of a god?! I feel like I can take on anyone, even Layla!" She closed her fist and again tried to summon her power, this time being extremely successful, with a powerful orange aura surrounding her entire body.

'This magic power...it's incredible!' Laxus thought to himself.

"So, Mira...you understand what you have to do?"

"Yes. Thank you so much!" she bowed in respect before running off to the back door, Laxus following closely behind.

 **X**

Entering, all they saw was darkness. Mira siphoned her new abilities, quickly lighting up the room, and finding her friends ahead. She ran up to them.

"Erza!"

"Huh? Mira!" She said happily, turning around and discovering her and Laxus. "Are you alright now?"

"Better than ever! But there's no time to waste. What's going on?"

"Erebus took control of Zeref, Natsu, and Vera and they're fighting against Anna, Layla, and Lucy! He just made a barrier that's preventing us from helping too!"

"I see. Stay here. I'll go take care of this." she smiled, walking up to the barrier.

"What do you mean?!" Jellal yelled. Are you crazy?!"

"No, just trust me on this." She kept walking until she felt herself bump into an invisible wall. "So this is it, then?" She placed her hand on the barrier, and blasted a wave of orange energy through it, instantly dispersing it, startling Erebus.

' **She has Hemera's powers...so she's the sixth. Insufferable brat.'**

"Mira?! What are you doing up here?!" Lucy asked, jumping back again and dodging another strike from Vera.

"I'm here to help!"

"Well, great! Are you sure you're okay?"

"Look out!" she cried. The Vera in front of Lucy turned out to be an illusion, while the real one came from behind them. Mira quickly intercepted her and kicked her back.

" **Focus all of your efforts on that girl!"** Erebus commanded. The other two ignored their opponents and flew towards Mira. She took a deep breath and exhaled, allowing her new powers to heighten her senses. Time seemed to slow around her, and she quickly placed her hand on Natsu's chest.

"Daylight Goddess' Purification." She discharged orange light into his body, quickly cleansing him of the black magic that was within him. She did the same to Zeref and Vera in only a few seconds. When she was done, she released her elevated state, making everything go back to normal. The three Dragneels fell over instantly, and the black magic power that infected their bodies left them and went back into Erebus. The others stood there, stunned.

"M-Mira...What did you just do? We couldn't see anything, it was only a blur!" Lucy stammered.

"I purified all of them." Natsu slowly stood up, rubbing his head.

"Ugh...Mira, why'd you have to be so rough?"

"Sorry if it hurt." The others stood up as well. They turned back to Erebus.

' **That girl is going to be some trouble. Perhaps I should use that. I'll use Vera to buy some time.'** His body faded away into the black mist in the room, and a huge amount of black magic power went back into Vera, making her go berserk again.

"Vera! You bastard, stop doing this to her!" Layla yelled.

" **On the contrary, she's quite an interesting one. I'd never thought about it until now, but being the daughter of a Heartfilia and Dragneel Envoy gives her extraordinary potential. Perhaps I should have just waited until she was born to choose an Envoy."** he snickered. **"Vera, dear, kill them at the peak of your powers."**

" **...Age Magic: 25 years."** Vera's body changed, making her slightly older than her normal 23 year old form. She still wore the same outfit, but now kept the top part of her coat closed.

" **Black Star Dragon Force."** She charged, faster than ever before, at Mira, who once again enhanced her perceptions. Vera was still fast, even in this slowed time. She dodged her attack and countered with one of her own, thrusting her palm into her stomach, sending her crashing back into the throne once Mira released time again. She got up again, completely ignoring her wounds, and rushing at her new opponent, who continued swiftly dodging all of Vera's advances.

" **Star Dragon's Shining Brilliance."** She clapped her hands together, creating a blinding flash of light that made Mira close her eyes. Vera used the opportunity to deliver a series of blows to her, knocking her down. She jumped over and crushed her foot into Mira's chest, causing blood to fly out of her mouth.

"MIRAAAAAA!" Laxus tried to run to her, but another barrier prevented him from helping.

" **You have no place in this fight. Stay out of it."**

Vera gathered energy into her foot again, but Mira rolled out of the way and jumped up, spin kicking her.

'I can't use a God Soul yet, which means I don't have a Spirit Weapon either...I'll just have to beat her with my time slowing and use a magic coating on my limbs.'

"Daylight Goddess' Healing." Mira's body began to glow orange, and her wounds closed up.

'What?! Did she just say what I think she said?' Layla's eyes widened.

"Daylight Goddess' Deceleration." Once again, time slowed, and Mira rushed towards the possessed Dragneel girl, generating orange light on her fists and punching her a few times. But, as Vera was slowly falling back, she regained her normal speed and kicked Mira in the chin before sweeping her legs out from under her.

"H-How…?"

" **Night Magic."**

'She knows Night Magic too? This is going to be harder than I thought…' Mira stood up again, and Layla entered the time dilation as well.

"How much did you teach her?"

"Not very much. Only that spell and an attack or two." she clarified. Mira breathed a sigh of relief. "I take it only your magic can help her?"

"You catch on quickly. But we still have to do this together. She's too strong to take on one at a time."

"Alright. Try not to fall behind!"

"I could say the same to you!" Both rushed towards her, and Vera braced herself. They both channeled their god magics onto their hands and feet, and threw punches from both sides, which she continuously blocked by maneuvering her body like paper.

"Oh yeah, I taught her that one too…" Layla sweatdropped.

"It's fine, I can deal with that!" Mira responded, jumping up and kicking 3 times. Vera blocked the first two with her arm and then got knocked back by the third. Mira rotated her body so that she landed on her hands and then spun around quickly, continuing to kick Vera back.

" **Gah…."**

"I'm sorry, Vera. I promise I'll make it up to you however you want!" Layla said. "Night Goddess' Bow!" She formed her spirit weapon and shot an arrow at her daughter, impaling Vera back against the wall, just in time for Mira to run up.

"Daylight Goddess' Purification!" She slammed her palm onto Vera's chest and blasted orange light throughout her body, purging the darkness inside. Mira sighed and returned time to normal, as Vera fell forward, unconscious, reverting to her real age.

"She'll be out for the rest of the fight. Keep her safe." Layla carried her over to Victoria, who healed her wounds. The black mist began to fade, and the others stood around, looking for any sign of Erebus. But nothing happened.

"Don't stay together. Spread out." Layla ordered. They began to move apart, but still didn't sense anything.

"Hey...do you guys feel that? It's as if the air just got heavier for some reason…" Natsu commented.

"KHHHHHHH-!" Anna gasped. They all turned to her, again seeing nothing. But slowly, something came into view. A black sword was halfway through her body, held by a being wearing a full set of black armor.

"ANNA-SENSEI!" Wendy screamed.

"ANNA!" Victoria cried out. The heartfilia ancestor slowly looked down at herself, her hands covered in blood, and her torso completely stained red. She felt tears involuntarily begin to stream down her face, and her voice choked up from feeling the red liquid come up and drip from her mouth.

" **I figured that you should be the first Heartfilia that I kill. After all, you have no place in this era, time traveler. You will not have an afterlife. You will be absorbed by me and become part of the darkness."** He stated, as her body began to turn into black mist, and she felt herself getting sucked inside of the sword.

"Lucy-!" she gasped, before disappearing completely.

"YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER?!" Zeref yelled, firing a blast of light and darkness simultaneously at him, resulting in a huge explosion. But when the light and smoke cleared, he seemed completely unaffected. Erebus slowly lowered his sword and faded out before appearing in front of his throne, standing before all of them.

" **I believe you experienced a similar phenomenon such as this with Aether. This is my full power. God Soul Phase 2: Dark Armor."** His armor was black with a purple trim, along with a horned helmet, spiked gauntlets, and the large black greatsword in his right hand.

" **The Armor of Achilles. Impenetrable. Goswhit. The impervious helmet of King Arthur. The Mmaagha Kamalu, a sword of darkness that glows red when people with evil intentions are nearby, and causes tremors when striking the ground. The Ring of Gyges. It grants the user Invisibility."** He displayed a golden ring on one of the gauntlet's fingers on his sword hand. **"The Seal of Solomon. Used to imprison demons."** He showed them another ring with the star of david on his other hand. **"You cannot harm me like this."**

"Oh, really?! TAKE OVER: GOD SOUL!" Layla screamed, but before she could activate it completely, he aimed his seal at her and shot a beam of blue and white electricity that created a barrier around her, preventing escape.

" **Didn't I just say that this seals demons? You use Satan Soul."** He then aimed it at Mira and did the same thing, trapping her.

" **Seal."** Lightning sparked off of his ring, and the two suddenly dispersed into light particles.

"M...Mom…? Mira!" Lucy cried.

" **Oh, I wouldn't worry about them. They still exist, unlike that other one. They're just in a different dimension somewhere. And now that they're taken care of, it's time to deal with all of you.** " He raised his sword towards them, and placed his other hand on his wrist. He lowered the sword, tapping it onto the ground. Red energy rushed throughout the floor and went up to all of them except for Zeref, paralyzing them.

"I can't...move…!" Lucy gasped, trying to get up, but being unsuccessful. The others were in the same predicament. Erebus formed a wall between them and himself and Zeref.

" **Are you ready to become a true descendant of mine?"**

"...No. Take Over: God Soul." Zeref activated his God Soul on top of his Fairy Heart form, giving him a new reserve of power. His white magic power became black, as well as his clothes. His hair became black again, but was still spiked up, and his eyes turned red.

" **Darkness God's Scythe."** Erebus summoned his scythe in his other hand and tossed it over to Zeref, who caught it.

" **Use it."** Zeref swung it around a few times before flying towards Erebus and attacking, the god blocking his strike with his sword.

" **Tell me something! You said you only had two levels of spirit weapons! Was that a lie?!"** he yelled, launching a wave of red energy at his ancestor.

" **It was not. You weren't paying attention to what I was saying before, were you?!"** He deflected the energy wave with his own sword and sliced Zeref across his arm.

" **I said that the twin blades were your spirit weapons. My first form is my scythe, and my second is this sword."** They crossed blades again, and Zeref slashed him across his armor.

' **Impossible! He broke through?!'**

" **You're forgetting something as well! You said that a Spirit Weapon hits a mortal no matter what defenses they use, but the same goes for you as well! At this level of power, the only thing that can hurt you is your own Spirit Weapon! Your armor is not invincible!"** He sliced Erebus' armor again, making an X shape across the torso. Erebus did the same to Zeref, slashing him across the chest and then down the middle. Both of their wounds healed automatically, as expected.

' **This isn't going to go anywhere. I have to really hit him hard to knock him out of this trance.'**

" **Darkness God's Surge!"** Zeref gathered red energy into the blade and sliced it across the ground, rushing towards the god. Erebus placed the sword's tip onto the ground, and it began to glow red, absorbing the energy attack. He then lifted it and tapped it against the ground, retaliating with the same attack. Zeref jumped up and dodged it, and then released another one towards him.

The two launched themselves off of the walls, clashing as they flew past each other. As they landed, both of them coughed up blood from the wounds they inflicted. Zeref got cut across the chest, while Erebus' helmet split in half, falling off of him and dispersing into dark particles.

" **Not bad, kid."** He spun around and slashed a wave of red energy from the sword, cutting through the room. Zeref countered with his own blast, and the two exploded on impact. They rushed at each other again, the sounds of metal clashing ringing throughout the room.

" **Darkness God's..."**

" **Darkness God's…"**

" **SURGE!"** They both yelled, launching humongous red energy waves that exploded, knocking them both back. Zeref stood up and tossed the scythe at him like a projectile, impaling him through his armor, making it all shatter and disperse, leaving him in his previous black wrappings.

" **Gragh…..No...I am the Lord of Darkness...the King of Despair...the God of all things unsanctified! I will not lose here!"** He tried to stand up, but was too late.

" **Darkness God's Wave."** He gathered light and dark energy on his hands and released them in a massive explosion that engulfed the god. He fell over, both his God Soul and Fairy Heart leaving him.

"I hope that did it...I don't have anything left in me…" He glanced over, seeing a purple spiral of energy leave the area, and the barrier deactivate, as well as the others regaining their mobility, and Mira and Layla returning from their seals.

"Good…"

"Zeref!" Layla ran over to him and helped him up. As the smoke cleared, Erebus slowly stood up and hovered back to his throne, sitting down.

"Ah...thank you, Zeref. That woman's lost her mind."

"A thank you? Are you sure you're yourself?"

"This is an occasion that calls for it. Take what you can get, I assure you that you'll never hear me say it again." Victoria and Mira went around healing everyone, restoring their stamina and magic power.

"Give us back Anna." Lucy said sternly, approaching the god.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. She's gone."

"What?!"

"It was Isabella's idea. As the god of chaos and the creator of everything, you can imagine that she's not very fond of people who try to manipulate time and space. Thus why she closed Neo Eclipse. As Anna's a time traveler, she decided to have me absorb her into my essence, meaning that she no longer exists, not even in Olympus or Tartarus. I can't bring her back, and neither can she. Gone for good, bye bye."

"No…" she sobbed.

"Hold on a minute. If she doesn't like time travelers, then why does she have no problem with the five dragon slayers?" Zeref asked. "And myself, for that matter?"

"Because they are not Heartfilias, and they were needed to stop Acnologia. Isabella may have lost her sense of self, but she was aware of Anna's plan before she gained her powers. And so, she wanted to see it through, instead of taking the easy way out by just defeating him herself. Although, back on Earthland, when he proved to be too difficult for you to fight, she decided that he would make a valuable ally, and so she took control of him. It was a win win for her. A strong fighter, and a defeat that needed to happen."

"She's cunning."

"Indeed she is. She's been watching the worlds for decades now. She knows everything that goes on. But she abuses her power. We cannot allow Chaos to fuse with a mortal anymore."

"What do you plan to do after they separate?" Victoria asked.

"So that's your plan? In that case, Isabella will probably die immediately and fade away into nothingness, and Chaos will remain. Then it just becomes like it was before."

"I see...Thank you, Erebus. We should be continuing on, then. Let's go, everyone. We'll have time to mourn Anna later." They continued onward, to the final god.

As the doors to the back closed, Erebus smirked and laughed.

"Prepare to lose, everyone. Nyx will destroy you all."

 **End.**


	28. Announcement: Extra Arc or No? PLZ READ!

**Hello Everyone! How are you all doing? There's a few things that I wanted to bring up with you about the future of Empress, and they're pretty important, so please read this through. Announcement chapters are usually less views anyway, so if you've come this far, thank you.**

 **Now Then:**

 **First of all, for those of you who have been following this story from the very beginning, you know that it used to be called Princess of Alvarez, and used to be only nine chapters. However, as I continued to read Fairy Tail and write other stories, I realized two things. One, that the original chapters were inaccurate and outdated compared to the canon FT Universe, and Two, that my writing at that time was not very good. My first story, A New Era, is still my most popular to date, but in the beginning, the script was short and choppy, and didn't really have proper formatting. Granted, I realize that a lot of us are like that when we first start writing stories. However, it gradually got better about 20 or so chapters in. From there, I went on to write a few different One Piece One-shots, before beginning another longer story, which was The Darkness in Our Hearts. From there, I went on with One Piece: The Order, Strength of a Champion, Our Families' Fate, this, and now A New Force, The Other Half, and Making Things Better. Around the time that Irene was revealed in the manga, I decided to do an entire rewrite of the story, beginning at chapter 483, and continuing on from there, keeping in line with the actual chapters, while also adding some of my own content. This is the same style I have going with Making Things Better as well.**

 **Eventually, a few months ago, I decided to just delete the original chapters and have the rewrite be the actual story. This was, again, for two reasons. The first and main one was because of the amount of views. The very first chapter had a few thousand, while the others went down significantly from there. There were only a few hundred down to a few dozen on the newer ones, which made me a bit disappointed. I wanted fans to read the rewrite as well, as I wanted them to understand how I'd evolved with my style, and how I was handling concepts in it, both new and old. The second was because I honestly liked the new plot a lot better than the old, and I thought it gave the story a much needed deeper and emotional narrative than before.**

 **In the old one, Layla and Yury's motivation wasn't much more than sticking with Zeref for the sake of conquering and having him die as he wished. But in the new one, I'm focusing more on their relationships and interactions with each other, as well as the members of Fairy Tail. They go through more of a character development, and having the Gods and Isabella as villains adds a further arc, known as the Olympus Arc, after the Alvarez War, where you really find out more about the past, as opposed to focusing on the present with the Alvarez characters.**

 **Now then, on to the second thing. This is more of a thank you. I mentioned earlier how I replaced the original chapters with the rewrite so that it would get some more popularity and insight. This has begun to work, with the first ten or so chapters having several hundred views each, and still close to 100 on the newest ones, meaning that you guys are still sticking with me, so thank you very much, and I hope you're continuing to enjoy it.**

 **Now, the third and final thing is the most important. I started working on the Nyx chapter the other day, and as I mentioned in the Uranus chapter I believe, there are only a few left, as of now. Three, to be exact: Nyx, Isabella, and the Epilogue.**

 **However, and I leave this up to you, would you like there to be another arc? I have an idea for a new arc, leaving off perhaps a year after Olympus, so in X793. The scenario would be this:**

 **In the near future, the year X817, the next generation of Fairy Tail, the kids of the couples, are in distress, due to most of the guild being turned into allies of a new villain, who uses Anti-Matter Magic, and rejects other beings in their entirety, essentially stealing their souls and free wills. As a desperate attempt, the kids figure out a way to travel back in time, to X793, where they ask the younger versions of their families and friends to go back with them and help defeat the menace.**

 **This arc would make one major change to the story. Regardless of if I do this or not, the Epilogue will be in the future, with the children making an appearance. The change would be whether or not the couples know about who they're going to have and how many. It's basically a Flash thing: if the kids travel back in time, the parents learn of who they're going to give birth to, how many, what they'll look like, etc. But if I don't write this, then they're none the wiser, and those statistics will be a mystery until they actually have them.**

 **Let me know, and please try to vote rather quickly, as I'd have to make the decision after the Isabella chapter. Just leave a Review or PM me stating Yes or No, and feel free to explain why you'd like it or not.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	29. Tears of Blood

**I've decided that I'm going to do the same thing I did with The Dark World with the extra arc: I'm going to upload it as a separate story. Since The Dark World and whatever I'm going to call this are technically considered filler, I post them as separate stories, and mention in the summary that they are sequels for those who liked the first story enough and want to continue can. They are "filler" because the stories end with an epilogue that more or less solved all of the problems of the story, and the sequel is just a possible continuation, but not necessary. So, after I finish this story, I'll begin that one. I don't think it will be as long as this one, but I imagine it will be at least ten chapters. By the way, I started watching Fate/Zero with my roommates, and it is so fucking good. We're early into season 2, and now that I've heard the soundtrack, there's a few that I definitely want to incorporate into it. There will also be a lot of Fire Emblem soundtracks in there as well. In any case, enjoy this chapter!**

 **Songs**

 **Meeting Nyx: Epilogue (Dark Souls 3 Ringed City OST)**

 **Inside the Mansion: Snowbell Woods, The Enchanted Princess (Derek & Brandon Fiechter)**

 **Mira Talks with Silver: Gentle Hands, Father and Mother (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Mira vs. Silver: Careening into Danger (Final Fantasy XV OST)**

 **Vs. Nyx: Father Ariandel and Sister Friede (Dark Souls 3 Ashes of Ariandel OST)**

 **Nyx Gets Serious: Father Ariandel and Sister Friede part 2 (Dark Souls 3 Ashes of Ariandel OST)**

 **Nyx God Soul: Demon in Pain and Demon from Below (Dark Souls 3 Ringed City OST)**

 **Vs. Nyx God Soul: Demon in Pain and Demon from Below part 2 (Dark Souls 3 Ringed City OST)**

 **God Soul Phase 2-Radiant Form: Soul of Cinder (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

 **God Soul Phase 3-Blood Moon: Soul of Cinder part 2 (Dark Souls 3 OST)**

The group was quiet the whole way to Nyx's room. Anna's death took a toll on them. Layla took the lead of course, as she would need to be the one to fight against the Heartfilia ancestor. Lucy followed closely behind though, watching her face keenly, trying to read her emotions. She was unsuccessful, of course. But Layla took notice anyway.

"Is something bothering you, dear?" she asked suddenly, making the girl flinch.

"Uh...no, it's nothing."

"Clearly it's something, Lucy. You've been watching me for the past 5 minutes."

"Well...are you nervous?"

"About the fight?"

"Yeah...I know that she's supposed to be kind...but she's also stronger than the rest of the gods...and if she's under Isabella's control...aren't you just a little bit scared about what might happen?"

"..." She remained silent before stopping short, prompting the rest of them to stop as well and listen. Layla turned to all of them.

"To be honest…..although I've met her a few times and she and I are close...I don't know that much about her abilities...I've never seen her fight before."

"So we don't know what we're getting into. That's the same as the last ones. We didn't know how strong they were until we actually faced them." Yury replied.

"I'm worried though. After what happened to Anna, I don't want any more of you to fade away into nothingness."

"Layla, don't worry. Nyx is the strongest god, so I'm sure that she also has a more resistant mind to Isabella's spell." Zeref comforted.

"Yeah...I hope you're right…" They continued on, coming across the doors eventually. Lucy felt more anxious than she ever had in her life. This was her first ancestor, the one who started her bloodline. Layla sighed and pushed the doors open with another large metal creaking sound. Walking in, they saw a throne room similar to the others, but Nyx was nowhere in sight. Layla walked up to the enormous onyx chair, finding a small purple magic circle etched into it. She placed her hand on it, making it spark before writing a message in midair.

 _Stand on the symbol._

They all looked down on the ground, finding a triple goddess symbol in a large sphere carving in the floor.

"Should we really do it?" Mira asked.

"Yes. I trust her." They all moved to stand on it, where swirls of magic energy flew around, before their bodies became enveloped in light, before disappearing. It felt like they were moving at light speed, like their bodies were being stretched out as far as physically possible. All they could see around them was blinding light. It lasted for about 10 seconds before everything stopped and they landed on the ground.

"What...what just happened?" Lucy asked, as they all looked around, trying to grasp their surroundings. The sky was red, as was the ground they were standing on. There was a harsh hot and dry breeze blowing. Black clouds dotted the atmosphere, and there were screams of agony and pain coming from every direction. The only landmark in sight was a large and lavish mansion, 4 stories high, and shrouded in dark mist, so it was just barely visible. There was a large black gate leading towards it, along with, surprisingly, patches of grass and dark colored flowers, probably the only ones in this place. They all started walking towards it, noticing a figure standing out front, at the edge of the cliff they were on.

"My lady." Layla breathed, walking up to her.

"Layla...so you have arrived at last." She spoke calmly and confidently, but with compassion as well. You could tell that she was much kinder than the other gods, but she also had the same authority in her voice that Gaia possessed, perhaps even to a greater extent. The others remained silent, but watched on in curiosity.

"...Watch out." She advised, as long black ghostly arms suddenly reached up and lashed out towards Layla, Yury, and Silver, surprising all of them. The arms were stopped though as they hit invisible barriers and were then sliced apart by Nyx, falling to the ground and disintegrating.

"What...were those?" Layla asked cautiously.

"Departed souls. If you haven't noticed yet, this is Tartarus. We are currently in the ninth circle, Treachery. You three have all cheated death at least once, and are all considered traitors to your land. The souls here long for you to join them." Lucy shuddered, thinking about how quickly she could lose her mother after just getting her back.

"So...what are you doing down here?"

"It's part of my job. During the daytime, I must watch over Tartarus, while I leave during the night and go back to Olympus. If I were to leave now, Olympus would be in darkness, as my own power eclipses my daughter's. And you can't get back without my help. So you'll have to wait things out here until nighttime. Besides, it might be good for you, to recover your stamina. Come." With a wave of her hand, the gate opened, and she led them into her home, sending all of the darkness and other servants away, lighting the place up, making it look like a regular home.

"Have a seat wherever." Nyx's house was human-sized, so she had already shrunk herself down to 6 feet tall. Everyone gasped when they entered the main foyer, seeing a very elegant sitting room right in front, with many armchairs, recliners, and coffee tables. Lining the wall were various objects, either personal items or magical artifacts. Most chose to sit, although Lucy decided to stand, and look around. Nyx took the largest armchair, opposite them.

Lucy turned, and for the first time, got a clear and up close look at her ancestor. Now, she had heard numerous times from the Envoys that she was beautiful, and she did see her in that one painting during her dream, but seeing her up close was a completely different experience. Lucy was obviously into guys, as her relationship with Natsu attested to. That's not to say that she couldn't tell when another woman looked pretty, usually Mirajane. But she had never been attracted to another female until now.

Nyx was almost too perfect. She was lovely, dazzling, alluring, every single word for beauty that there possibly was to describe a person, she was all of these things. She wore her usual garb, a gothic long black silk gown that covered everything, save for the top part of chest and shoulders. Unlike the others, she did not wear sandals, instead keeping her feet free all of the time. She had curly waist length black hair, and had on black eyeshadow, purple lipstick, and black nail polish. Her figure was the typical Heartfilia hourglass figure, but with more prominent assets, such as a larger butt and bigger breasts. She folded her hands in her lap and looked down at the floor for a moment before locking eyes with Lucy.

"So...anything you wanted to ask me?"

"H-Huh? What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's your first time meeting me, and it might be your only time as well. You were eager to meet me, were you not? What did you want to talk about?"

"I...didn't actually have any questions...I just wanted to meet you, honestly." she stammered.

"Ah...was that all?" Lucy nodded, blushing a bit. She turned her attention back to the various paintings lining the walls. She didn't recognize a lot of the people in them, but considering that they were blonde and looked similar to herself, they must have been other Heartfilias throughout the ages. Lucy stopped at one with Anna in it, picking up the frame lightly.

"I'm afraid I must apologize for the deplorable behavior of my little brother." she spoke, noticing the picture that her descendant was examining. "Isabella amplified his bloodthirsty tendencies. He normally isn't that bad, and only gets that way in certain fights."

"You really can't do anything to get Anna back?" Victoria asked.

"No. I'm afraid she's gone. A god's essence is something that cannot be tampered with, not even by the gods themselves. Once you are absorbed, you cannot come back. I'm the same way. Although I believe Isabella planned to get rid of her anyway."

"On that matter...what about you?" Lucy asked. "I thought you were only yourself for a short while before she took you over again?"

"Oh, I'm not under her control at all. She tried to take me over, and I dispersed it. I then put a mental block on my mind, and she's none the wiser."

"Wow...that's good news!" Lucy put the picture down and smiled at her happily, the others breathing a sigh of relief.

"But...that doesn't mean we won't fight." Her words made their hearts sink.

"But...if you're not under her control, then why bother fighting us?!" Layla yelled.

"Because you're not ready to face Isabella yet. I'm going to train you. But this won't be any ordinary training. It will be to the death. I'm going to actively try and kill you, and you must do everything in your power to stop me."

"You can't be serious!" Lucy screamed.

"I absolutely am. This is all for your own good. If you skip over me and go straight to Isabella, you will all die. You need to get stronger. So you should get prepared. Rest up for a few hours, and then we're going back up there."

"My lady, with all due respect, if you fight seriously, we'll all be killed anyways." Layla sweatdropped.

"That's exactly the point of this. It's to not get killed."

"Can't you just revive us if we die though? That's what you did to Natsu." Mystogan asked, stepping forward.

"I suppose I could...but I'm not going to. Because then you'll all just attack recklessly without concern for yourselves, and won't have learned anything. So no."

"Oh...alright." She got up from her chair and went upstairs, leaving the others down in the living room.

"Mom." Lucy turned to Layla, who was sitting in one of the other big armchairs.

"Hm?"

"You have to tell us about her abilities."

"I told you I don't know. I've never fought her, and I've never seen her fight either."

"You had to! Didn't you train with her to learn about your god magic?" Mira asked.

"Nope. Yury taught me that one. I figured out Night Magic on my own." She said confidently, making the others sweatdrop.

"Well then, explain to us the basics of Night Magic. She's your god, she uses the same kind, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose that would be the most efficient way to do this. Alright then. I'm sure you know this already from fighting me, but Night Magic's core concept is being able to manipulate space."

"Right...so is it a mix of magics, like Holy is?"

"No." Victoria answered for them. "Despite there being five main elements, there are plenty of other types that are considered their own category. It's an extremely complicated magic to learn, but it's also immensely powerful. After all, being able to manipulate space is a very useful ability."

Layla ignited her fingertips with purple magic power, before explaining her magic further.

"Let's say, for example, Natsu attacked her. Doesn't matter if it was a ranged attack or a close combat one. She could form a barrier that completely absorbed it, and she would take no damage at all. She could also create a portal that sent you somewhere else. In addition, we can change dimensions at will. For instance, I can create a separate dimension and then swap into it, and control aspects such as the time and weather in there. It also does not affect the outside world at all."

"So what are your limitations compared to Nyx's?" Lucy asked.

"Ha! She'll have no limitations, that'll be the difference! I often don't use Night Magic because it uses up a lot of magic power, and leaves me exhausted after multiple uses. But Nyx, being a goddess, has infinite magic power and stamina. So she must be able to continue using it indefinitely. In addition, something that she can do that I can't is travel between the afterlives, like Olympus and Tartarus, at will. I can't do that, because I'm not dead."

"It honestly doesn't sound that bad. It seems to me like Night Magic is more of a defensive mechanism as opposed to the other ones."

"Well, it may seem that way, but it's capable of hurting as well. Like I said, it's about manipulating space, so there are plenty of ways to reverse an attack or create one of your own. In truth, anything is possible, so Nyx could have multiple different ways to utilize her powers."

Everyone seemed to sigh as the room turned quiet, thinking about what they were going to do.

"Although…" They all looked up again, curious. "Mira, if you're using Daylight Magic now, then we have a chance."

"Because it's the opposite?"

"Precisely. You see, for all of Night Magic's unpredictability, there is one thing that is constant about it. Although Night Magic can control the time of a dimension it creates, it can only slow it down. Daylight Magic, however, has the capacity to heighten the user's senses and speed time up. Something that you did against Vera."

"So then...that's what that blur was?" Lucy asked her.

"Yes. By sharpening my awareness and speeding up time in a certain space, I move many times faster than normal. Daylight Magic is a very pure magic, and is about cleansing the darkness from one's soul."

"That's great! Then can't we just do that?"

"No. Nyx is a goddess, and what's more, she's the Goddess of Night. Considering that she's also older than Erebus, who's darkness can never be broken through, she's the same way. The dark is just part of who they are, and it's impossible to extract their very essence from them. I imagine even Hemera, the Goddess of Daylight, cannot do that."

"Did you meet her?" Victoria asked.

"No. Therein lies another problem. I'm a beginner, and the only knowledge of this magic and its correlating spells were given to me by Aether, who also considers himself a novice. He said that if I wanted to learn more, I'd have to learn from one of you, and eventually Hemera herself. So, for the time being, I don't have a God Soul or a Spirit Weapon."

"That gives me an idea. Nyx was nice enough to give us a few hours to prepare ourselves. We should use that time to train you. Layla will spar with you, and try to determine how Daylight Magic can counteract Night Magic and in what ways, and perhaps help you out with God Soul and your Spirit Weapon."

"That's…" Mira's eyes widened, her voice now a little shaky.

"Don't worry, I'll be nearby healing you both."

"...No. I-I don't want to. Not her…" She covered her arms, now shivering.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Laxus asked. Layla watched her, sighing.

"I get it. Silver, you do it."

"Hmph. You got it. Come on, Mira." He walked outside, the white-haired mage taking a deep breath and following him.

"What was that about?" Laxus asked.

"I'd rather not say. I'm gonna go supervise." Layla stood up, leaving.

"You still don't know?" Zeref interjected. "Back on Earthland, before you fought Vera the first time, Layla approached Mira, and the poor girl tried to pick a fight with her. As retaliation, she used her Satan Soul and impaled her through her chest, and left her for dead, before deciding to heal her later."

"So that's what that was?" Lucy asked, gasping. "I thought it was just Erebus messing with my head…but Mom really did that?"

"At the time, she was confused and untrusting, as she had just discovered that her mother was still alive and that I had kept that from her. Now, I don't think she would do something like that unless it was someone she really didn't like. I imagine that Mira's the same way with you." Zeref looked at Yury.

"Hm…" There was silence in the room before Gray spoke up, deciding to go out and watch, the others following.

 **X**

"Train them?"

"Yes."

"How unexpected. Nyx isn't the type to fight voluntarily."

"She is not under your spell, and never was. Are you aware of that?"

"Yes, of course. Whenever someone is being contained, they share a link to my psyche. Despite my trying to, I never developed one with Nyx. Although if she's training them, I don't really see the point...sure, they have your daughter, but...it's all for naught once she activates Blood Moon."

"Indeed."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Of course, my lady."

 **X**

"Again." Mira got knocked down from Silver's offensive. She got back up and ran towards him, delivering quick and fast strikes.

"Heaven God's Unbreakable Shield." As soon as Mira punched his armor, she was blown back from the recoil, crying out.

"Mira, you're never going to get anywhere like this." he sighed.

"Says you! I'll find an opening!" She jumped back up and coated her fists in orange light again, launching an energy wave towards him.

"Heaven God's Renditional Blades." Silver formed his spirit weapons and sliced her energy beam in half, dispersing it.

"You're not getting it. You're being reckless!"

"I'm the only one that can stop her magic!"

"And continuously running towards her and getting repelled over and over again is going to work?"

"..."

"You're not used to this new magic of yours because it's a different style compared to your usual kind. Daylight Magic is not based on power like Satan Soul, it's based on speed, analysis, and using the environment to your advantage. You can't hope to defeat the first goddess by just using physical attacks every time."

"You guys are such hypocrites. Night Magic isn't supposed to be meant for combat either, but Layla revels in every fight she participates in!"

"That, Mira, is a change in my own personality because of my Satan Soul's influence. That has nothing to do with how I use my god powers. You no longer have such a change, so you have no excuse. You need to learn how to really use your magic."

"...I…..need time to think….alone." She walked over to the edge of the cliff, watching the tortured souls.

"But Mira-!" Lucy called out, before Layla stopped her.

"Lucy, leave her for a little bit. She needs time to think this through. Come on, let's all go back inside."

 **X**

" _Mom, can I come in?"_

" _Oh? Of course dear. What is it?"_

" _I wanted to ask you something. What do you expect of me?"_

" _Expect of you? What do you mean by that?"_

" _Dad told me the other day that...he expects great things from me. Is that just because I'm the oldest? And what if I don't meet his expectations?"_

" _Oh, Mira...you're such a sweet girl, and nothing could ever make us disappointed in you. Yes, it's true that older siblings are often given more responsibilities than their younger ones, and you are no exception. I want you to look out for and care for Elfman and Lisanna. But don't worry about upsetting us, really."_

" _Mom...I can tell there's more to it than that. Come on, tell me the truth."_

" _Ah, you can see through me, can you? Well, I can't give you the truth, you're too young to know right now. All I can say is that you have a very important role, Mira. Now come sit with me. We'll read together."_

" _Okay."_

"Too young? When was she planning on telling me?"

"Need someone to talk to about this?" Mira looked up, seeing Silver standing over her.

"Yeah…" He sat down, watching Tartarus at work in its torturing of evil souls.

"How old were you when you found out that you were an envoy?"

"I was 8. Same with Layla. Our parents told us early so that we could start studying magic at a young age. It was the same case with Zeref and Yury, though they didn't start putting their abilities into practice until later on, when they were adults."

"But they still knew. My mother told me that I was too young when I was ten. So I wonder if she was just being overprotective or if she truly didn't want me to know."

"It's possible. Most often when the parents are informed of their child being an envoy, they become worried, since it means that the kid has a huge responsibility thrust upon them without even asking for it. Layla and I were feared by some of the people in our hometown because they thought that if they angered us, that we would punish them with our magic."

"That's horrible! They all knew?"

"It was a relatively small town, so everybody knew everybody, and with Isabella being a master of magic in her own right, she explained to them about envoys, and they found out about Isabella. Our purpose, after all, is to keep the balance in the world, by defeating the guilds that are too powerful."

"And I'm to do the same? It already seems like I failed."

"I don't know. The sixth envoy always seemed to have a separate agenda from the five of us, and we know little about what they do. We've never met Hemera either, so…"

"But an envoy is supposed to keep balance, yeah? That's the general idea anyway. And all I've been doing this whole time is helping Fairy Tail grow stronger into a guild that unbalanced all the rest…"

"You only just learned about your position though. Don't blame yourself."

"It doesn't really matter considering I was born with the power anyway. I didn't find out until just a few hours ago, but I've been one for 20 years. If I'd known since I was a kid, like the rest of you, then I would have been better prepared for this…You know, when we fought Layla, she chose seven of us to take on, each one of us representing a mortal sin. She picked Lucy for envy, since she looks up to us due to all the power we have. But at this point, I envy them. To not have these abilities is all I want right now. Have somebody else do it, for all I care." She hugged her knees. Silver sighed, smiling slightly.

"Mirajane. Let me tell you that you're not the only one that thinks that way. Every envoy, no matter how confident at their powers, asks themself at some point or another: why me? Why am I the one with these powers and this obligation, and why can't someone else have them?"

"And what conclusion do you come to?"

"That we simply have to accept it. Fighting it and complaining about it won't change anything. And I know from personal experience that Fairy Tail is not a guild to believe in fate or destiny. And to the gods, humans are simply their creations. After all, even envoys are only demigods. We may be descended from some of them, but they fell in love with a human, one of their own conceptions. And yes, our families are different from the others, but...that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy life ourselves. After all, we're alive, aren't we? That means that our bloodline has continued for almost 800 years, because our ancestors were able to find someone to marry and have children with. The same is true for us: Erza, Gray, Vera, Laxus, and Lucy all exist because we found a way to make life work for us. We didn't trudge through our days carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. And, if you're still not sure, remember that we're put on this planet for a good reason: to keep balance in the world. Sure, that may mean that we have to fight some people, but if we weren't here, Earthland would be run by either an oppressive and overpowered guild, or someone like Acnologia. You are an envoy of the Goddess of Daylight. And that means that you play a crucial role in helping defeat the one who's trying to destroy the world you live in, the world you love, your family, and your friends."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right! I was being so selfish…"

"No, you weren't. It was perfectly justified. It's hard to be a leader in a world of followers. But hey, want to go again? For real this time?"

"Yeah...let's do it!"

 **X**

"Are we really going to do this? It's suicide!"

"It's not like we have a choice, Lucy. Nyx wants us to fight her, whether we like it or not. She's preparing us for fighting Isabella, so that we won't get ourselves killed."

"And have you considered the possibility that we're killed here, before we even get a chance to face her? Isabella might be stronger, but that doesn't mean that Nyx is a pushover. She's the first god to ever exist, and still the strongest one, to this day!"

"She's also our ancestor, and cares about us. Why would she do this if she truly wanted to kill us?"

"I-! I...don't know. I guess...she's doing this for our sake."

"Right. So have some faith in her."

"So then, what's keeping us?" They all turned to the front doors, where Mira and Silver walked in, smiling.

"Mira! What's with the sudden change in charisma?" the blonde girl asked.

"Let's just say I received some good advice. We've been sparring for the past few hours, so I think I've gotten some good practice in."

"Then that's all we can ask for. Let's get going." Victoria smiled, restoring Mira and Silver's stamina and magic power.

"Where did Nyx go though? I thought we needed her to get back?" Zeref asked.

"No. She left us another teleportation magic like last time. It's the same way to activate it as well." Victoria explained, pointing to the large triple goddess symbol on the floor. They all stepped onto it, getting transported back into Nyx's room in Olympus.

"Ah. You're here. I suppose then, that you've all prepared yourselves to the best of your abilities?"

"Yes." Mira stepped forward and answered for them, making the goddess arch an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I see. Well then, let's begin. Although I must admit that I left out a small detail from before. This whole fight will take place in my dimension. I assume, by now, that you have learned that a god is at their most powerful when they are in their own zone, correct? Well, we're going to fight there. Wouldn't want to make it any easier on you now, would I?" She snapped her fingers, and space began to distort around them until they all found themselves in a wasteland with a red sky and nothing but the moon lighting the area. Of course, the rays were strong enough to allow them to see well enough, but it was noticeably darker than the outside world.

"Now then, let's determine if you're really ready to fight me. Or if you can even injure me." A dark purple mist surrounded her.

"Remember what I said, everyone. Just start off with your strongest abilities." Victoria advised. All of them activated their strongest transformations, whether that meant demonic transformations, overlaying two different magics, dual modes on top of Dragon Force, or God Souls. Mira and Victoria were the only two who didn't use their full powers yet.

"Alright then. Meteor Blade!" Lucy grabbed her sword tightly and launched a blue energy wave towards her ancestor, who swiped her hand upwards, dispersing the entire attack.

"Damn."

"Don't worry, I'll do this. True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis!" Jellal and Mystogan used their strongest spells to send a meteor falling down towards the Goddess, as well as create a black hole that he sent spinning towards her. Nyx sighed, snapping her finger to pause Altairis, and then created a black force field around the meteor, that when dispersed, had crushed it into a mere storm of pebbles that fell onto the ground.

"This is ridiculous!"

"Don't worry, I'm gonna hit her with a physical attack." Gildarts prepared his strongest attack. Nyx turned her attention back to the black hole, transferring magic energy into it before it dispersed into nothing. She turned back as Gildarts rushed towards her.

"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean!" He smirked as she held her hand out, glowing with purple energy.

'Gotcha.' She caught his punch, releasing a shockwave behind them, and her magic remained untouched.

"What…? What happened?!"

"Your magic is one that I am already familiar with. After all, I watched Layla's fight with you all those years ago. Crush Magic. And, the strike you just delivered was intended to negate my magic before it connected. Unfortunately for you, the spell that I was casting was one that altered your own, making the negation aspect null and void, and then it was simply a matter of stopping your attack, something I can easily do with my physical strength, even in this form." She let go of him, and he jumped back, landing on the ground.

"All Crush!" He fired a large white energy blast towards her, with which she did the same as Lucy's attack.

"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Absolute Heaven!" He ran at her again, throwing another punch. Again, she caught it, but her eyes widened as a large explosion engulfed them. When the smoke cleared, they were in the same position before, but a few feet back.

"You managed to move me...not bad." She threw him back to the others, brushing herself off and flexing her hand.

Erza and the Dragon Slayers were next, using their strongest techniques. But the night goddess just formed a barrier around herself that deflected the energy back at them, knocking them away.

"You're going to have to try harder than that."

"Don't mind if I do!" Silver had already appeared behind her, with his twin rapier spirit weapons in his hand.

"Kh-!" She didn't have time to react before he sliced her across her back, making her fall over. He quickly formed them into their greatsword form and lifted it over his shoulder, preparing to swing it downwards, but the goddess created another barrier and healed her wounds, lifting herself up from her hands and kicking Silver away before rushing after him.

"So she's finally gotten serious...let's go, you six!" Layla waved the strongest along with her, and they ran towards their opponent, with only Mira and Victoria not having their God Souls active.

"Don't pull any punches! She can't die, and we need to inflict as much damage on her as possible!"

"Earth Goddess' Staff!"

"Heaven God's Freezing Slice!"

"Darkness God's Scythe!" Zeref used his newest ability, manifesting a scythe of his own after the fight with Erebus.

"Light God's Hyperion!"

"Night Goddess' Artemis!" Irene fired an energy blast at her back while Silver sliced downwards, creating a torrent of icy wind. Nyx fired her own energy blast into Irene's, blowing the attack apart, and then used a surge of her own magic power to counter Silver's attack with her own stronger wind that broke up the ice.

"Darkness God's Surge!" Zeref launched a red energy wave from his scythe that tore through the ground, and Yury materialized in front of her, ready to slash her in half.

"You guys aren't bad, you know, but...you're not as good as you need to be either." Nyx closed her eyes and smiled, time beginning to slow down so that the attacks didn't connect yet.

"Daylight Goddess' Acceleration!" Nyx's eyes twitched in shock as she noticed Mira nearby, speeding up time again with her magic. Zeref's attack paralyzed her, allowing Yury to slice her in half.

"Do it now!" He yelled over to Layla, who fired an arrow into her head, both halves of her body falling to the ground, a large pool of blood forming.

"Apologies. But we had to do it." Their weapons disappeared into magical particles.

"Don't apologize. You did well." Yury's eyes widened, looking down at what was left of her body.

"Truly. I made a miscalculation. I was not aware that Mira had awakened her own powers yet." The hole in her head began to heal, as well as her body becoming reattached. Standing up, she sighed, looking around at the others.

"You are all powerful mages. But, I've been holding back. Not anymore. You know, of all the gods in existence, Hemera, Erebus and I are the only ones that are able to maintain the full power of our God Soul in our human size. Most gods, when they attempt to activate their full powers, must enter their own dimensions, and then grow to their full size. If they were to remain in their human forms, as well as in one of the physical zones, they would tear apart both the world and their own bodies from the sheer output of magical energy. The three of us have found a way to incorporate our transformations into our small forms, granting us access to them wherever we are and whenever we want. After all, Erebus activated his own in his throne room, correct? Even during his second phase, he never went into his Realm of Shadow."

"If that's true, then why did you bother bringing us here? Doesn't it just mean more work for you?" Lucy asked.

"On the contrary. If you remember, when we enter our own spaces, we are able to automatically intake massive amounts of our respective element, similar to how Slayers consume their own type of magic to become stronger. So the amount of power we expended in order to transport the others here is regained in a matter of seconds. All the while, we can continue to absorb a limitless supply of our own power. **God Soul.** "

Like the others, Nyx's eyes glowed a dark purple, along with her face becoming shadowed and purple magic power radiating off of her as her dress billowed in the wind, slightly hovering above the ground.

" **To have a limitless supply of magic power, and a body that cannot die by any physical means. You must admit, it is a rather invincible combination, is it not?"**

The others stepped back, concerned.

"Ha...I'm sweating…" Layla laughed.

" **So, I've made the great and powerful Layla Heartfilia nervous. How funny."** Nyx maintained a serious face, extending her hand towards the party, and unleashing a vortex of purple energy. Victoria jumped up front and blasted a ray of light through it, dispersing the attack.

" **Hm...you'll be harder to deal with than the others. Let's try this instead."** She raised her hand into the air before lowering it, making the others tense up.

"What's...happening? I can't move!" Yury struggled. None of the others could either.

" **Night Goddess' Rip."** Nyx raised her hand up and slowly began to close it, the party of mages beginning to feel their bodies stretching out.

"Ow...I can't...stand this...she's going to tear us in half!" Layla cried out. Nyx closed her fist completely, their bodies being split in half, and blood going everywhere. They all cried out at first before losing their ability to speak. Nyx looked down at them condescendingly before snapping her fingers, breaking the illusion, and all of the Fairy Tail members found themselves standing in the same position as before.

" **That's one time you've lost already. What have you learned?"**

"To not allow ourselves to be caught in a situation like that again." Mira answered.

" **Good, but you need to realize what put you into that predicament in the first place. When I transformed, you stood there and watched. When I finished, you did nothing but look on. And, you failed to realize that I had already cast an illusion spell immediately after the transformation. You need to pay more attention and not watch on in amazement."**

"But...we don't want to fight you…" Lucy muttered.

" **I already told you that doesn't matter to me. I'm doing this so that you'll learn something for fighting Isabella. So stop complaining and come at me."** Mira and the other envoys wasted no time casting various spells to try and hold her down, but she merely released a shockwave of magic power, destroying any efforts they put out. She glanced behind her as Mystogan was cloaked in Meteor's golden glow, and got kicked up into the air, leaving time for Silver to impale her with his Greatsword.

"You should do the same." he grinned, looking at her, now pierced onto the ground by his weapon. "If you want to train us, then don't give us any openings."

" **Touché."** She grabbed the blade and forced it out of her body, healing instantly and grabbing him by the throat before tossing him away. Yury teleported in front of her again, preparing his sword for a strike through her abdomen. Nyx once again widened her eyes, slowing down time.

'I've got you this time. Daylight Goddess' Acceleration.' Mira once again sped up time, but not for Yury. This time, she used it on the arrow that Layla fired, standing behind the goddess. It made contact before she knew it, causing her to drop her spell, and for Yury to slash her as he originally intended. Blood ran down her chin until she healed herself yet again and started choking Yury.

" **You're not very gentlemanly, are you? You almost cut my nether region in half."** she growled, stomping onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him, and losing consciousness.

" **That takes care of him. Perhaps now we can settle this."** She turned to Layla.

"I'm afraid not." Nyx turned to her left, getting knocked across the landscape by Victoria.

"I think that due to the fact that I will be taking the lead against Isabella, I should be the one to defeat you. Take Over God Soul." Her body underwent a transformation of her own, being surrounded in golden and white energy.

" **So, you want to use me as a mere stepping stone to get to that point? How inconsiderate. After all, I'm the one who gave you that power. And now you're denying me?"**

"I'm sorry, but Isabella is more important to me than you are, Nyx. You are my ancestor, but she is my daughter, and I need to save her."

" **I understand. Well then…"** She turned around and looked up into the red sky.

"What are you...doing?" Lucy asked. The goddess ignored her, her dress starting to blow around a bit, and the moon's light beginning to shine brighter.

" **Come, my love. Give me your power…"** She held her hand up towards it before closing it into a fist yet again. The rays shined brilliantly, blinding the others. When they were able to see again, Nyx stood in a new, glistening pearlescent dress, her eyes now glowing white, and the moon's light now pulsating in sync with her.

" **I suppose if I want to fight you equally, I should use this. God Soul Phase 2- Radiant Form."**

"So that's her second phase…" Layla muttered.

"Yes. She decided to use her Spirit Weapon after all." Victoria kept her eyes fixated on her ancestor.

"Her Spirit Weapon? Where?" Lucy asked.

"Look up."

"What do you mean? The only thing I can see is the...no way...that's impossible! The moon itself is her weapon?!"

" **That's correct. As the Goddess of the Night, the moon represents my presence, my authority, my eternal power, my status as the first deity, barring father. It is the object of my affection, the source from which I draw my powers. So let's see how you do against me when I use it."**

"Very well." She tossed a ball of light towards her opponent, who simply dodged it, exploding when it made contact with the ground. Victoria started running towards her, firing a barrage of light particles that the goddess deflected with an invisible barrier.

" **Night Goddess' Deceleration."** Nyx slowed down time again, Mira narrowing her eyes and setting it back to normal again.

" **This is becoming tiring."** Nyx formed a dagger out of moonlight and tossed it towards Mira.

'Everytime she narrows her eyes is when she slows down time...I know she will again.' Right on cue, Nyx lowered her eyelids at the Daylight mage.

'There!' Mira sped up time, but only succeeded in making the dagger faster, speeding into her stomach and impaling her, making her gasp and fall backwards, bleeding heavily.

"Help her!" Victoria yelled back, Silver rushing over to her.

"What...happened…?" Mira choked out as Silver removed the dagger and began healing her.

" **I simply made you believe that I was going to repeat the same tactic a third time. Yes, you figured out how I slow down time, which I had noticed as well. So I did the same motion but didn't actually use the spell. You only succeeded in making my knife more deadly than it already was. As simple as that."** She began dodging Victoria's strikes simply by stepping backwards and shifting to the side.

"Holy God's Halberd!" Victoria summoned her own spirit weapon, a golden ceremonial pike. She thrusted it towards Nyx, who once again dodged, until Victoria shoved it towards the ground and used it as a pole to vault over her and kick her away. She grabbed the weapon again and alternated between physical strikes and weapon thrusts. Nyx continued dodging, although more actively.

" **Night Goddess' Stomp."** Despite having bare feet, she used a spell to harden her foot and stomp the top of the weapon into the ground, causing it to throw the black-haired Heartfilia off balance. She then surrounded her hand in magic power and lunged for her.

"Holy Goddess' Barrier!" She blocked her attack in an instant with a golden burst of energy, enough time to drop the weapon and duck down, sweeping the goddess' feet out from under her, then grabbing the weapon again and impaling her with it.

"Still think we're equals?" she smirked confidently.

" **Equals? You are still far beneath me, child. God Soul Phase 3-Blood Moon."** She quickly snapped the weapon in half after grabbing it with her hand and pulling out the remains from her body. The wound closed up as quickly as it was made, and she kicked Victoria away, standing up again. The moon changed colors, and began to glow a deep crimson, matching the color of the sky. Surprisingly, Nyx's outfit returned to her original, and her eyes stopped glowing. Her magic power also died down.

"Huh? What's going on?" Natsu looked around. Victoria looked back up before noticing that Nyx's eyes had begun crying tears of blood. Everything around her began to shift violently, the wind blowing fiercely, and a wave of darkness blocking out everything in sight save for the beautiful deity herself. Her eyes now began glowing dark red, and she slowly began walking towards her, black mist exiting her mouth every time she exhaled, only adding to the darkness that was already obstructing her vision.

'What is this? I can't feel my body...I can't even speak, or breathe...the only thing I can see is her...what is this power...is it Night Magic? No...it's more sinister…'

" **You are correct. This is not Night Magic. It is Blood Magic."**

'What?! Is she reading my mind?'

" **Blood Magic feeds on my own bloodlust and your fear. So yes, I can see anything that's in your mind. This magic first works by making me appear terrifying, and then restricting all control you have over your body. I then take the form of the thing that you dread most, and the rest does itself. This magic never fails, because everyone is afraid of something. My brother may try to deny that he has anything to fear, but he still fears me."**

Her appearance changed again, warping into Isabella.

"Look at you. Groveling before me, as you should be. You think you'll be able to save me? You can't save anybody." She formed a sword engulfed in chaos magic and impaled Victoria before turning it on herself and committing suicide, making Victoria gasp and scream out in pain after the illusion went away. Nyx turned her head and looked at the rest of them as well, making their worst fears play out in front of them, similar to Erebus' magic, but in a more terrifying and brutal way. For many of them, it was the death of their loved ones before they ended up committing suicide themselves. All of them were left stunned, or in a crying mess as Nyx walked up to her throne and sat down.

"It's as I thought. You need to think about things before you fight Isabella."

They remained shocked for a few more minutes before Victoria finally turned to her, her composure regained for the most part.

"What...do you mean?"

"I mean that as you are now, you're not able to fight her. Mentally speaking. You see, your problem is that you go in expecting everything to turn out best-case scenario. You're expecting nothing to go wrong, to defeat the enemy soundly, and for everyone to come out alive. And that's because you're used to that. Perhaps that worked with your opponents back on Earthland, but here in Olympus, that ideal will get you killed."

"Get us killed? We've come out of all of these fights fine! We've fought and defeated 4 gods already!" Natsu protested.

" **You did not defeat us!"** She yelled in a booming voice making all of them back off.

"You are being foolish right now, Natsu Dragneel! This is exactly what I'm talking about! The only reason I used Blood Moon on you was to teach you a lesson, and that was a much weaker version of it! Had I used its full capacity, your minds would have been shattered, and you would all be broken, and unresponsive for the rest of your lives. And you did not come out of all of those fights perfectly fine! Or have you forgotten about Anna already?"

The room went deathly silent before she spoke again.

"I've been watching you since you came in here. You were out of it when you fought me. Your reaction times were slower, your magic was weaker, and most of you, despite activating your strongest spells, did nothing but stand by and watch. And therein lies the crux of your issue. Because of your behavior, you become broken when something goes wrong. After all, you're rushing in at full strength, not expecting someone to die. So when someone does die, you're not prepared for it."

"So you're saying...that we should go in there, anticipating that someone will die?" Laxus growled.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Because anything can happen, and we have to live with that fact. Isabella is not the type of opponent to let her guard down, and you should not think for a single moment that fighting her will be anything like fighting us. You only needed to fight us long enough to knock us out of a trance. You have to fight her to the death. And if you go in there thinking that you'll be fine, and something does go wrong, then you're not going to be ready for it, and she will use that against you, and kill you. Do you understand?"

"...Yes." They all said at different time intervals.

"Good. Then go in there and take care of her. I'll be waiting for you when you're done, assuming that you'll live." She healed all of their wounds and magic power.

"You're...not going to help us? You said that you were immune to her control, right?" Layla asked.

"I did say that, and it's true, but...she would simply use chaos magic to bind me, and then drain my magic power to use for herself. If I went with you, it would only aid her. So I shouldn't."

"I understand. We'll be back...Nyx." Layla smiled at her as they went through the last set of doors and ascended a staircase leading to the top floor of the castle.

 **End.**


	30. Why?

**Almost there, people. And then I can get into the new one. I have the story already planned out. After I finish that one, my two long stories are going to be Making Things Better and a new one for Fate/Stay Night that I thought of. I will also try to keep updating Problems regularly. At long last, here's Isabella. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Isabella's Speech/Explanation: Gehrman, The First Hunter (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Vs. Isabella: Laurence, The First Vicar (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Vs. Isabella Standing: Cleric Beast (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Isabella's Transformation: Lady Maria (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Isabella's Inner Self: Will of the Heart, Orchestrated Version (Bleach OST)**

 **Vs. God Soul Isabella: Ludwig, the Accursed (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Isabella Speech on Chaos: Soundscape to Ardor (Bleach OST)**

 **Vs. Isabella Final Efforts: Ludwig, the Holy Blade (Bloodborne OST)**

 **Victoria's Lullaby: Dearly Beloved (AmaLee)**

 **Final Words: Kingdom Hearts III Dearly Beloved Concept (Sam Yung)**

"Hey, Grandma Victoria...can I ask you something?" Lucy muttered, staying near the front with her mother and great-grandmother.

"Yes? What is it?"

"You said that...Isabella used to be different, right? What was she like?"

"Hm...yes, before she had her powers, and for the first four years after getting them, she was a very different person."

"She was very kind and loving towards all people. She was especially fond of children, and was very protective of us when something bad happened. That night, when our house burned down, she put my own safety before hers and insisted that I get out before her so that she knew I was safe. She was a wonderful mother."

"After she obtained her new abilities, she was very confident, and took her job seriously, but was still kind and showed mercy when she could. She never wanted to become what she is now...she never wanted to hurt any of us."

"I see…we have to get her back."

"Lucy...it doesn't work that way."

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember what I said before? Her body and mind are far past what they could handle normally before. Once we separate her from Chaos, she will cease to exist, just like Anna. After all, she's been living up here for decades now. Despite being immortal, she has long since turned into a spirit, even being fused with a god. My guess is she'll only have a few minutes before she becomes nothing more than stardust."

"...I understand." They continued on before reaching the top floor, and opening two large silver doors, leading into the biggest and most elegant throne room yet. The walls were still grey and made of stone, but the floor was a black granite, with a long red and gold carpet right down the middle that continued going up a large staircase of the same material, up to the top where in the back of the room was the goddess herself. Spanning to the left and right of the staircase were pathways with single doors that assumingly went out to the balcony of the castle. On top of the staircase, back against the wall was a golden throne, where Isabella sat, wearing a purple and black gown and cape with matching purple high heels. Her hair was no longer tied back, deciding to leave it down. Her arm was on one of the armrests, while her chin was resting against her fist. Her eyes slowly opened, her irises glowing purple as well. She glanced down at them, her gaze settling on Victoria.

"Ah. Hello again mother."

"Isabella."

"And you're all still alive, save for Anna. Oh well, I was going to take care of her anyway."

"Isabella." Lucy addressed her, taking a deep breath and stepping forward.

"Yes, dear. What is it?"

"I...wanted to ask...why would you do all of this? Destroying the world? You can't give us another chance to work things out? Why can't you help us?"

"Oh, Lucy, Lucy…" she sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Sadly, the world doesn't work that way. Humans are ignorant and restless. You start fights over trivial matters, and wage wars to conquer other continents. And it's not as if I can fix you. Why do you think I ended everything the first time? There was a lifetime worth of wars, some of which involved half of the world. By the time it was 2020, there were so many things wrong with the human race: hypocrites, liars, frauds, riots, corrupt leaders. There was no way I could allow it to continue. The people stood no chance of rising up and rebelling. On the surface, it was a wonderful world to live in, but behind the scenes, it was a warped society, led by people that gave false promises, and then took control of everything once they were elected. I had no other option but to end everything and start again. This time, we decided to give a small percentage of the population the ability to use magic, instead of becoming just like the first earth and using advanced warfare. We thought that this time, since the ability of a mage is not defined so much by their status, that the people would be able to take control of their own lives when needed, as well as be able to heal the others who had been hurt. But alas, they instead grouped up and formed guilds, fighting against other guilds for dominance. Those who were non-magical were merely caught in the crossfire, and could do nothing about it, living their lives in fear of dying. But I couldn't just reset everything again. After all, it had only been 50 years or so, and erasing a planet takes a lot out of me. So instead, I came up with the idea for envoys. Since gods cannot exist in Earthland without discarding a great deal of their magic power, they would find someone to conceive a child with, and that child would inherit some of their abilities, whilst being able to retain all of their magic power down there, considering that they were half mortal thanks to their other parent. They were demigods. And as these five children continued on with their lives and expanded their own bloodlines, every few generations, when another powerful descendant with great potential was born, they would be selected as the new envoy. Their role was to keep balance in the world. Should a guild become too powerful for its own good, they would tear it down. And for a few centuries, everything proceeded as planned until Zeref was cursed with immortality, and Irene extended her lifespan. Along with Acnologia to deal with, I advised the remaining three gods to not pick another person until they were absolutely certain. We had a stalemate with Earthland for 300 years until Yury was born, and then another 80 or so years later, you two were chosen."

"But they all went to Alvarez…"

"Precisely. What with all five envoys joining an empire that conquers other countries, my plan lost all meaning. And, since Hemera had not chosen an envoy yet, we couldn't have them deal with it, either."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"Ah, you don't know yet, do you? The sixth envoy's role in all of this is to keep balance between them. It is a separate agenda from the other five. Should they walk down the wrong path, it is your job to either turn them back to the right one or to eliminate them."

"You're kidding! Considering what happened, you expected me to take down the entire empire by myself?! You're insane!"

"Of course not. After all, you only just found out that you are an envoy. I cannot expect a novice to defeat five masters by herself. But...you were not chosen by Hemera in the first place. You were not intended to be an envoy."

"What…? What are you talking about? You said that all envoys are chosen at birth!"

"Yes, and that's still true. But, your powers were not given to you by Hemera. In reality, your mother Elena was the real envoy, and she transferred all of her powers to you just before her death. Had she remained alive, I'm positive she would have been strong enough to topple Alvarez with no help."

"My mother was…?!"

"She made the choice to give you her strength and magic power. She knew about Zeref and his plans, and wanted you to be the one to stop him. But again, that didn't work either, as you're working with him now. So many strategies down the drain. Although...and I feel that I owe you this explanation since this is your final fight...I played a part in making this meeting happen."

"...What are you talking about?" Victoria asked.

"You see...almost everything that happened to you, since X784...has been my doing."

"WHAT?! That's impossible!" Lucy screamed.

"On the contrary, it's very possible, and it's the truth. To answer your earlier question, Lucy, the citizens of Earthland should not be aware of our existence. If we simply went down to them and told them we were gods, and then demonstrated our capabilities, they'd lose wills of their own and only look to please us or to destroy us, which would inevitably fail. I stopped Alvarez's first invasion myself, but if I just defeated them, then I would be interfering too directly. I may rule over the gods, but these were all terms that we agreed on together, and if I had selfishly done whatever I wanted, they would attempt to overthrow me, and everyone in Olympus would view me as a tyrant. So if I wanted to change something and make it go my way, I had to do it subtly. If Alvarez had been allowed to continue its conquest, then Fairy Tail would have been no match. After all, at the time, the strongest mage it had was Gildarts, who wouldn't be able to defeat any of the envoys. And, none of you even knew about Zeref, so they would have destroyed you with little effort. I couldn't let that happen, so I decided to send a few things your way to toughen you up and prepare you for fighting against them. Of course, I knew that when it came down to the envoys, you wouldn't win, but I could at least have you hold your own."

"What did you do?" Mystogan growled.

"Let's see...I gave Lullaby a bit of dark magic, bringing it back to life. I also gave it to Eisenwald, who became obsessed with it. After that, I revealed the location of Deliora to Lyon through a knowledge transfer, thus beginning the ritual to bring him back to life. I knew that that would be posted as a job and that someone in your guild would most likely take it, considering Gray's past."

"You bitch!" He yelled up at her before she waved her hand downwards, making him fall straight down onto the floor.

"I'm not finished yet, hold your tongue. I then used dark magic to corrupt Jose's mind and make him initiate an attack on your guild. It wasn't that difficult considering that he already hated you. Then what did I do? Oh yes, the Tower of Heaven."

"You didn't-!" Erza and Jellal's eyes filled with rage.

"I amplified Jellal's psychotic and violent tendencies even more, and made sure that the magic council would attempt to use Etherion. After that was when you fought amongst yourselves, correct? I had no part in that, but following the conclusion, I introduced the members of Oración Seis to Nirvana and forced them to go public about it."

"You did that as well?" Wendy asked.

"Indeed. Then Edolas, right? Again, that was of Mystogan's own doing. But afterwards, I orchestrated Tenroujima. I figured that it was time that you met Zeref and saw what you were up against. In addition, I presented myself to Precht, and convinced him to go there to bring Zeref to his side, and wipe out your guild in the process. This was a risky move, as I figured that he'd be strong enough to defeat Makarov, and wasn't sure if all of you had the stamina to defeat him. But I told him about Zeref, knowing full well that he would be killed by Ankhseram magic anyhow. I then decided to introduce you to Acnologia as well, which admittedly was a mistake on my part, but Mavis bailed you all out anyways. But on the bright side, that rebellious dragon knew who I was and that he could do nothing to stop me. You were, of course, frozen for 7 years, so I bided my time watching Zeref's progress until you returned again. Then the Grand Magic Games. That was much of your own doing, considering that Lucy and Rogue from that apocalyptic future traveled back in time. But, had you failed, I would have taken care of them myself. I am not very fond of those who mess with time."

Lucy thought about Anna.

"And then Tartaros, I enchanted those books to make the demons come to life and activate Face. And not too long after that was this war. Of course, by the time that I began to make my move, I could get away with it, due to it escalating so much."

"But why would you do something like that?! I thought that your job was to destroy the world only when things got too out of hand! But you've deliberately manipulated things so that they'd turn out that way! You've been planning to destroy it since the beginning!" Victoria yelled.

"Yes. Yes, I have. You see, the only reason I wasn't justified in destroying the world up until now is because the gods had faith that you would be able to defeat Acnologia, which you did, and I'm grateful. Had I done it before, it would have been considered an impulsive action. But now, I am completely in the right. You see, what I've learned about humans is that they will always crave conflict, no matter what. Even if there was true peace right this very moment, you still have small squabbles and arguments between yourselves. It's just part of who we are."

"And once again, I'm arriving at the same conclusion as before." Zeref stepped forward, his eyes now glowing red with rage.

"From your point of view, you're trying to do everything within the lines of your agreements. You're trying to avoid being considered a dictator at all costs. But the way I see it, you already are. You're involving yourself in our lives to shift the odds in your favor, just to reset the world and create another one. And like you said, the next people you make will also find themselves waging wars and whatnot. So if you want there to be peace, then you need to find a different way to achieve it, because this is ludacris! You're using us like we're puppets, trying to mold us into your perfect vision of creations, but when we don't become that, you just end everything and start over! You're mad!"

"I'm mad? Look at yourself, Zeref Dragneel. You are constantly killing others both directly and indirectly. And to save yourself from this despair, you're waging a war to conquer the rest of the world. Pitiful."

"Because that's all I can do. Don't act like you know my motivations. When I was a child, my family was killed by dragons, and I studied magic to find a way to bring Natsu back to life. Because I did, I was cursed, having to kill those who I don't want to, and the only way to stop myself is to lose my love for humanity. That's why I wanted to expand my empire. To weaken my powers to the point that when I became emperor of the new united empire, Layla could kill me and take my place."

This revelation shocked many of the others, but did not faze Isabella in the slightest.

"How sad for you that she's not up to the task."

"Then Yury would have done it."

"I don't care, frankly. The most important aspect of a ruler is not their goals or philosophies, it is their legacy. And yours is that of a man who slaughtered thousands of people using black magic in order to reign as emperor. Not one that the populace would be particularly fond of."

"And what is yours? That of a woman who died in a fire, leaving her daughter an orphan, and upon resurrection, lost her sense and reason, becoming nothing but a tyrannical and false god, a destroyer of worlds in order to meld humans into her playthings. As far as I can see, even my reputation is better than yours."

"Enough!" She slammed her fist onto her throne. "I'm fresh out of patience and mercy. I can't wait to crush you all. Now come. I assume that what I explained to you before is more than enough motivation to fight against me?"

"Oh, you have no idea...I've been waiting to do this for a while now, and that was just some extra fuel for my rage!" Natsu transformed into END and jumped up towards her, gathering flames onto his right hand. Isabella snapped her fingers, making a purple barrier that surrounded him, holding him up in midair, frozen.

"I...can't move! What did you do?!" The only response she gave was a small scoff, flicking the air and sending him flying against the wall with a burst of wind. He remained there for a moment before slowly falling towards the ground, where Layla caught him.

"What...was that?"

"Chaos Magic, Dum Dum. I assume you've heard it mentioned multiple times now. Observe." She pointed her finger at Natsu and then raised it up, making him fly up into the air.

"Gaah!" Isabella giggled, flicking her wrist and making him go wherever she wanted. After a minute or so, he covered his mouth with his hands, beginning to feel nauseous.

"Alright, alright. I don't want you to vomit in here." She lowered him down onto the ground again.

Lucy once again thought back to the three previous times that she had met her grandmother. The first, when she put Layla to sleep and intimidated Irene into submission. The second, during her dream where she explained how her powers allowed her to do anything. And the third, when she awakened Natsu and forced Acnologia and Layla over to her side. She was obviously dangerous, but she seemed to have something about her that the others didn't that made Lucy feel uneasy.

"Alright then, who wants to try next?"

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Meteor!" Both Jellal and Mystogan gathered light energy and prepared to speed off towards her, but the next thing they knew, reality seemed to have shifted, and they were at the top of the stairs facing the opposite way, only succeeding in crashing into the wall, making Isabella smile again and brush hair out of her face.

"Jellal, are you alright?!" Erza asked as they fell onto the ground.

"Agh...no...that really hurt…"

"This is going to be pointless unless Mira or I help out." Victoria stated.

"Let me try something first." Lucy said, entering her Spirit King Dress form. She raised the sword above her head and began to chant.

" **Let the 88 stars of the heavens shine now! Starlight Dreams, Galaxia Blade!"** The blade became encased in blue light, and a beam penetrated through the ceiling and fell towards her grandmother, who looked up unenthusiastically. The light shined on her, but she did not turn to stone, and merely examined her nails.

"What a waste of an attack. Lucy, that spell is meant to eradicate curses, correct? Do you not remember that I use God Magic? I am not a mere demon."

"Night Goddess' Artemis!" Isabella quickly became serious, looking down at her daughter, who fired her spirit weapon at her. Isabella's eyes widened, slowing down time, and allowing her to catch the arrow with her hand before snapping it in half.

"You're going to have to try harder than that."

"Perhaps so, but it seems that my attack was enough to alarm you." Layla fired off another one, and Isabella once again caught it and broke it.

"Alarmed me? Nothing of the sort. I simply have to be more on guard with your magic. Your spirit weapon can harm me, that is all."

"Because you are also a descendant of Nyx. Night Magic can always hurt us."

"That's correct. It doesn't matter if I tell you this or not, it is not a weakness. What good is your attack if it cannot hurt me?"

"I wonder about that, Isabella." Silver walked forward this time, creating his own spirit weapons.

"The last time we fought, I got you a few times, and as soon as you were wounded, no matter how small the cut, you were quick to heal it and make it disappear. The same went for when I sliced your clothes open. You covered them up rather quickly. What is it about that?"

"...To show battle damage is a sign of weakness to me. I am God, I should come out of every skirmish without a scratch."

"And there's that personality complex again. So I guess that means that we just have to deal some damage to you no matter what!" Silver swung his swords, causing a cold wind to blow through the room and up to Isabella, who held her arm in front of herself to block the cold. Her eye twitched when it made a small cut on the sleeve of her gown.

"I've had enough of you. Try blocking this!" Isabella extended her arm and unleashed a wave of fire from her hand. Silver combined his rapiers into his greatsword, and launched a wave of wind and ice to counter her attack, both spells cancelling out with a large explosion.

"Nice job Silver!" Isabella's eyes widened in shock when space shifted again and Victoria now stood behind the throne, her spirit weapon in her hands.

"Holy God's Halberd!" She thrusted the spear through the back of the chair, impaling Isabella in the process.

"Damn...you'd do this to your own daughter?"

"To save the world, yes."

"How cold-hearted of you…" She wiped the blood off of her chin and healed her wound, forcing Victoria to pull the spear out of her. She then snapped her fingers again, making a small glass of water appear in her hand and cleansed her hands of the red liquid.

"Alright then. Since you finally hit me, I guess it's time that I got serious." She chuckled, standing up from her seat. Almost instantly, in a blur that was almost too fast to make out, she sent Victoria flying back down to where the others were.

"I suppose I should change the scenery. After all, this doesn't really feel big enough for a full-scale fight, does it?" She clapped her hands twice, the entire back half of the room disappearing, and the floor expanding into a seemingly limitless area.

"Well then...let's begin. For real, this time." She spread her arms out, inviting them to attack her.

"Fire Demon's Fury!" Natsu roared, a huge blast of fire exiting his mouth, which Isabella dispersed by swiping her hand through it.

"Ice Devil's Rage!"

"Nakagami Starlight!"

"All Crush!"

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Shattering Light Sky Drill!"

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"

"White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk!" Some of the members of the group unleashed some of their strongest attacks against her, but they were all stopped in their tracks by a powerful barrier that Isabella put up. Afterwards, she quickly moved her finger through the air, as if she were drawing a pattern. Those who just attacked, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gildarts, Wendy, Rogue, and Sting, were sliced across their front thanks to the spell that she used.

"Chaos God's String Manipulation." The six aforementioned mages fell onto the ground, bleeding from their torsos. As Mira turned to heal them, Isabella drew a horizontal line with her finger, changing the body structure of the ones she had just taken out. Mira healed them, but the wounds didn't close up, and the blood didn't disappear.

"Nothing's happening! My magic isn't healing them!" Mira cried, frantically repeating the spell.

"Yes, healing magic won't work anymore. On any of you. I changed your body structure so that your cells no longer regenerate. No healing magic can help you now. Your wounds are for keeps. It's only a matter of time before you start dropping like flies."

"We'll see about that! True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"

"True Heavenly Body Magic: Altairis!" The two Jellals used their strongest spells, a meteor falling down towards her, as well as a black hole spiraling in her direction. She ignited her finger with purple magic power, and pointed to Altairis, then raising it up to Sema. The spells followed suit, causing the meteor to get sucked up and disintegrated. Isabella then held her other hand out, absorbing the black hole into her palm, taking the magic energy for herself. She then extended her arm towards them and released all of the energy back in a massive energy blast of purple and black. They began to activate Meteor, ready to dodge, but Isabella entered their minds and took control.

" _Stop and take the attack head on."_ The two's facial expressions became vacant for a moment, and instead of dodging, they dropped all defenses and were blown away by the blast, hitting the wall and falling unconscious. Again, Irene tried to heal them, to no avail.

"Karma Demon: Iron Shadow God Sword!"

"Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Absolute Heaven!"

"Water Nebula!"

"Black Star Dragon's Roar!"

"Meteor Blade!"

"Chaos Dragon's Heavenly Battleaxe!"

Isabella caught both Gajeel's and Laxus' weapons with her hands, then pulled them in, staggering the dragon slayers. She yanked Laxus' from his hand, tossing it into him, cutting him across the front and leaving him out of the fight as well. She then rushed up to Gajeel and cut through him as well.

As Juvia's vortex hit her, she used ice magic to freeze it. Juvia stopped to avoid getting turned into a crystal statue, and then used Water Slicer on herself to make her arm bleed. Isabella began to run towards her, and Juvia swung her arm, flinging blood onto her.

'There!'

"Water Manipulation: Blood!" Juvia tried to control Isabella's body, but it didn't work.

"Yes, I know all about that new spell of yours from watching your battle with Aether. I took necessary precautions against it before you came here. The only blood that can control my body is my own." She knocked Juvia away as well. Next, she blocked Gildarts' punch and enhanced her physical strength, kicking him away and knocking him out. She then absorbed Vera's blast as well and reversed it with double the strength. Vera caught it with her hands, but still got blown back. She did the same with Lucy.

"Well, now that the rest of them are out of the way, let's get down to the real fight, shall we?"

"I suppose so…"

"Earth Goddess' Staff!"

"Heaven God's Renditional Blades!"

"Darkness God's Scythe."

"Light God's Blade!"

"Night Goddess' Bow!"

"Holy God's Halberd."

Irene waved her hand, causing tree roots to sprout up from the ground, binding the Chaos Goddess. She then twirled her staff around, firing a blast of green energy towards her.

"Chaos Barrier!" Isabella, despite remaining trapped, created a barrier through willpower, blocking the blast.

Silver stomped on the ground, causing a rush of ice to head straight for her. It froze the trees and her own body as well.

'C-Cold...Frostbite?' She used an explosion of fire magic to quickly melt and shatter the ice, as well as make the frost damage on her hands disappear.

"Darkness God's Surge!" Zeref channeled red magic energy into his scythe and launched it at her. She deflected it with her hands.

Yury rushed up to her and began swinging his sword. She continuously dodged all of the strikes with ease.

"Light God's Hyperion!" He made his strongest blade evolution and launched a golden energy blast from it, which Isabella also deflected. Yury continued to rush her, and Layla got behind her, firing off multiple arrows. She created a barrier at her back that blocked them.

"Mira."

"Yes! Daylight Goddess' Acceleration!" Mira sped up time and touched Victoria, allowing her to speed behind Isabella and deliver a series of blows that ended with a kick backwards. She then lept towards her and impaled her with her halberd, Isabella's eyes widening.

"Well? What do you think now? You didn't come out of this battle unscathed, did you?"

"That remains to be seen…" She bent her leg back and pushed Victoria off of her, removing the spear from her abdomen.

"Goddammit...that really hurts…" She healed herself, closing up the wound. She decided not to bother with her clothes this time, leaving her silky smooth stomach in view.

"You said that you'd be taking this seriously, but you're so arrogant that you're not even trying against us lower lifeforms, are you?" Zeref asked.

"Ding ding ding we have a winner." she said sarcastically. "Because, you see, if I really took things seriously, you would all die, perhaps unintentionally. After all, I've taken out all of the others with mere flicks of my fingers."

"I thought the whole point of this fight was to kill us and have us out of the way?" Layla stepped forward.

"Oh, never you, dear. I always put family first. But as for the others, they all amuse me. I'm going to toy with you until I become bored. Then I'll kill you."

"Forgive me, but I'm having a hard time believing that you'd allow us to live."

"It's the truth, whether you believe me or not. Remember that I offered Lucy and Vera to join me multiple times."

"And both times we said no." Lucy countered back.

"That's because you don't see things from my point of view. Although I can easily change that with a little magic."

"You mean brainwashing? Like you did to me, your own daughter? I won't let you do the same to my beloved girls."

"Don't think of it as brainwashing. Think of it as...a form of mind alteration. You are no different than you are now, you simply take my side instead."

"Taking your side means that they fight to kill us. I lost Lucy once, I will not lose her again. Night Goddess' Artemis!" Layla quickly evolved her bow and turned it horizontally.

"So long, mother. Spreadshot." She formed 5 arrows and once and fired them, spreading out and homing in on Isabella. She deflected all of them with her hands, while Layla continued conjuring arrows and launching them.

"Get her now!" She ordered the other two.

"Holy Goddess' Rays of Light!" Victoria teleported behind her and fired multiple golden rays of energy from her spirit weapon.

"Daylight Goddess' Time Skip…" Mira's body faded away.

"Burst!" Isabella's magic energy exploded outwards, disintegrating all of the arrows and lasers at once.

"Chaos Goddess' Rampaging Anarchy!" She charged up purple lightning on her fingertips and sparked it around the room, chasing after the two other Heartfillia women. As they jumped from wall to wall avoiding it, Isabella created two clones that went after them and kicked them back onto the ground, where the original stood between them, one arm aimed at each. She once again shot off lightning at full power, electrocuting them and making them fall down. Isabella panted for a few moments, trying to regain her strength back.

"Purification!" Her eyes widened as Mira suddenly appeared again, this time right in front of her, and slammed her palm onto the woman's stomach, shooting orange energy throughout her body and heavily damaging her.

"You brat...like I said...you're only a novice…" She coughed, standing back up again. She got ready to use lightning again, but Layla then fired another arrow that went through Isabella's chest, and Victoria impaled her through her throat, making her gurgle blood. The spear was pulled out of her, making her fall over.

"Did you really have to be so violent?" Mira asked quietly.

"Yes. We need every advantage we can get. She may be my daughter, but she's lost her way, and must be stopped." Isabella's wounds began to heal again, and they all looked down. She slowly stood up, angry.

"This time...I won't let my guard down…" she growled, fixing her clothes as well.

"Gaia...Uranus...Aether...Erebus...Nyx...come to me...become my power…"

"What...are you doing?" Victoria asked cautiously.

"My...powers…" Gaia moaned, her body being sucked through the castle.

"Damn her…" Erebus roared, the same happening to him.

"I never thought she'd go this far…" Nyx also felt herself getting pulled into Valhalla.

"Nyx!" Lucy called out, seeing the five gods floating against their wills above Isabella.

"I'll be borrowing your powers...just for a bit." she laughed, as the gods were literally absorbed into her being.

" **GOD SOUL!"** She screamed, floating above the room, and transporting them into the realm of Chaos, making the walls of the castle crumble away, leaving only the floor to stand on. The others were left behind, taking only Silver, Zeref, Yury, Mira, Irene, Layla, and Victoria with her.

Her dress had transformed into a cloak, with a trail that blew in the wind, while she channeled infinite magical energy from her palms. Her face, like all most other god souls, had become dark, with purple and black magic energy radiating off of her.

" **Let's see if you can hurt me now. Chaos God's Rampaging Anarchy."**

 **X**

" _Why…? Why did things have to end up like this? Why did I have to be the one chosen for this stupid job?" She slowly looked up, watching the fight in her subconscious, and seeing her new form quickly defeat them._

" _No...I don't want this, Chaos...I'm hurting her...why? Why am I such a horrible person…?"_

Layla and Victoria got knocked aside and crushed into the ground.

" _Stop it...stop it…!" She started punching herself to no avail._

" _Stop it! Stop it! I hate myself! I'm killing my own family! STOP IT!...Why…?"_

 **X**

" **Why? Why aren't you dead yet?"** She asked, floating above them. They were all heavily injured and knocked around.

"We won't...let these atrocities go on any longer...even if your intentions are to make humans peaceful...your way of going about it is wrong...your logic is flawed...We can't let you win! Take Over: God Soul!" Mira stood up and activated her own god soul for the first time, being enveloped in a bright orange magic cloak. The others used their own transformations and summoned their spirit weapons as well.

" **Chaos God's Rampaging Anarchy!"** She shot lightning from her fingertips again, while the gods all rushed towards her, avoiding the spell.

"Earth Goddess' Blast!"

"Heaven God's Freezing Slice!"

"Darkness God's Surge!"

"Light God's Hyperion!"

"Night Goddess' Artemis! Spreadshot!"

"Daylight Goddess' Time Skip!"

"Holy God's Rays of Light!"

Irene fired a beam of green energy from her staff that Isabella absorbed and reflected back, injuring her. She also caught Silver's sword and crushed it, impaling him with her hand and throwing him back down to the ground. She did the same with Zeref and Yury, and then released an energy blast that disintegrated Layla's arrows. Victoria's beams hit her but did little harm, and when Mira reappeared and used purification, it no longer fazed her, and she was also kicked back down to the others.

" **Are you all done yet?"**

"Not by a long shot...Deus Sema!" Irene transformed into her dragon form while retaining her god soul. A giant meteor fell through space, towards Isabella.

"Light God's Amaterasu!" Yury went behind her and fired off his strongest attack. Isabella absorbed Yury's blast and redirected it at the meteor, destroying it.

"Darkness God's Surge!" Zeref fired off another red energy wave from his scythe that was stopped by another barrier. Isabella shot an energy beam through Zeref and landed on the ground in front of her parent.

" **Mother...you really don't understand, do you?"** She grabbed the lance Victoria was wielding and impaled her with it, making her fall onto her knees, blood dripping from her mouth. Yury and Irene tried to fight her again, but she stabbed both of them with a chaos sword that she created, leaving all of them unable to move.

" **Holy Magic cannot stop me."**

"Holy...Magic...was created in order to negate Chaos Magic…" she choked out.

" **But Chaos Magic is all about bending reality to your will. You know better than anyone that I have any power I could wish for. And that includes making myself immune to Holy Magic."** Victoria's eyes softened.

" **You cannot change the properties of Holy Magic. It exists to negate Chaos, and that's it. It is a one-purpose magic. It is a mix of Night and Light magics, two that also have a single purpose."**

"But...Holy Magic's very existence is for negating anything that you cast. So your alteration shouldn't make a difference…"

" **You can keep telling yourself, but it won't change what I did. Chaos is made from lightning and darkness, and its purpose is not to destroy, but rather to change. That is why it doesn't have a physical form. It's a void that goes on endlessly. My magic's property is about changing aspects of the physical and metaphysical world to better suit my purposes. By changing my magic itself so that Holy Magic cannot harm me or negate my powers, you run out of options. Daylight Magic cannot do anything either. I cannot be purified because I'm not evil. I'm just...me. Chaos is neutral. To the world, I am the ultimate authority, and so my plan to create new earths is not considered a heinous act, because my word is law and it is in the best interests of the universe and reality itself. Holy Magic cannot be altered to negate my negation. Of course, I could do that, but why would I, since that's only helping you defeat me. Do you see now, mother? You cannot defeat me or my magic. Because as many times as you come up with something new, I will simply find a way to make it ineffective."**

"Hehe...you really think so?" Isabella narrowed her eyes and looked back to Mira, letting go of the halberd.

" **Of course I do? What are you going on about?"**

"...Purification." she smirked. Isabella looked at her skeptically before her eyes widened and she clutched her chest, gasping. Before she could do anything, a burst of daylight energy exited her body in a flash, draining her power and heavily injuring her. She now fell onto her knees, and Victoria healed herself, standing up and forming two halberds, crossing them over Isabella's neck, ready to decapitate her.

" **What...did you do to me…?!"**

"You claimed that she can't purify you because the nature of your magic is not evil. But you said it yourself. Chaos is made from lightning and darkness, and Daylight Magic is the purest form of light. Daylight can easily cleanse darkness. You are not beyond our reach."

" **But...your wounds…"**

"You changed our bodies so that healing magic doesn't work. But Holy Magic exists to negate Chaos, and at the time that you altered us, it was not in the intention of making my magic ineffective, like you did to your own body. So, I can still heal us." A golden aura emitted off of her and scattered over to the others, healing their wounds and fixing their internal workings.

" **Damn...you...I won't let this happen! RAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"** She roared, gathering her remaining power and generating a burst of energy that blew the others back.

" **Chaos God's Edge!"** A shiny silver blade enveloped in chaos magic was summoned into her left hand as she twirled it back and forth, occasionally switching hands. The others rushed over and began attacking her. She blocked Irene's claws and sliced her across the front, making her revert back to her human form. She and Yury began swordplay as well, parrying each other and blocking strikes.

" **Strike Enhancement: Force!"** She swung upwards with so much power that she sent Yury's blade spiraling into the air. She quickly cut him across the front and pivoted around to the back, slashing him again and making him fall over. Layla fired multiple arrows at her, which she quickly deflected all of them with her weapon. She raised above her head and gathered purple energy into it.

" **Slice!"** She lowered her sword, releasing an energy wave that engulfed Layla and defeated her as well. Zeref ran up and slashed continuously with his twin daggers, while Isabella used some quick footwork to avoid his efforts and cut him down as well. Silver was next, and she summoned a second sword, matching him blow for blow with their blades. She blocked one of them with her foot, spinning around and kicking it out of his hands. She then overwhelmed him with both of her weapons, easily knocking the other sword out of his hand. She tossed hers both up into the air, and gathered energy into both of her fists.

" **Strike Enhancement: Power!"** She punched Silver's armor, shattering it easily. She delivered a blow with her other fist, breaking the rest of it, leaving him in simply a long-sleeve shirt and pants. She caught her swords again as they fell and impaled him through his chest, taking him out for good as well as he fell backwards. Victoria jumped down and began trading strikes with her double pikes, but Isabella's sword proficiency was still more than enough to easily disarm her mother and stab her as well. MIra got ready to time skip again, but Isabella tossed one of her sabers backwards, hitting Mira in the chest, and knocking her out as well.

" **I've trained with a blade every day for the past 54 years, even before I had these powers. You cannot hope to best me in combat with weapons. Especially without a spirit weapon."** She glanced back at Mira.

'Fighting her won't get us anywhere. We can't beat her, even with all of us…'

" **She is certainly an asset, but without experience, she is nothing like Elena. Don't you agree, mother?"** She received no response from her.

" **Mother?"**

"One day...you will realize…

The stars you are chasing…"

" **What are you doing?"** She dispersed her weapons and looked at Victoria quickly.

The black-haired Heartfilia ignored her and continued singing the lyrics to her lullaby softly.

Shine bright deep inside you, but will you ever let it

Shine from within and cast all of your fears aside?

You'll see the light; but until that day comes…"

" **This song…"** She gasped, feeling her god soul leaving her and returning her to her normal form. "Stop it! Don't you see what you're doing?! My powers are growing weaker! How can I save humanity if I cease to exist?!"

"My Dearly Beloved, be strong, I shall be there,

Always here beside you, so keep your head held high.

The shadows of this world will try to steal you away

Into their arms, but you belong in mine."

Isabella's powers engulfed her own body, rushing out of her, beginning to separate. The gods were warped out, reappearing in the hall, and the dimensions switched back to Olympus' throne room, surprising the others. Nyx began to heal everyone as the two remained in the center.

"We are one within a dream,

So hold me close and count the stars with me."

Victoria glanced back at Lucy and Layla, giving them a nod, and the other two ran up and began singing the song with her, increasing the speed at which they separated. The three began to switch parts, Layla repeating the first verse as background vocals while the other two remained with the second verse, thirds apart.

"All our scattered memories, I will find the pieces one by one.

Ocean waves drift over me, I'll keep you in my memory.

This dream that lives within your eyes, I wish to see it come to life!

A thousand blades unto the sky, Reach out and link our worlds, yours and mine.

Let the tide rush over you and one day I know

We shall meet again…

My Dearly Beloved."

They finished, and the rest of Chaos exited her completely, once again becoming a massless, shapeless void. The four Heartfilia women as well as Vera suddenly seemed to be transported somewhere else, seeing a blinding flash of light before finding themselves at the edge of a cliff, the ground covered in grass and flowers, overlooking a beautiful sunset and a sparkling ocean, the waves calmly splashing against the rocky shore. Isabella stood at the edge, holding her hands behind her back, her hair blowing in the breeze.

"Mother? What are we doing here? What is this place?" Layla asked.

"This is my subconscious. I thought I should bring you here to explain a few things for my final moments. Neither Chaos nor I wanted this to happen. When we fused, his personality was the dominant one, but my resistance caused us to change into a 'third' person. As if we had multiple personalities. We didn't want to do any of the things that we did, but we had no control over ourselves."

"You're back now though, and that's what matters." Layla smiled.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't have that long. I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused you girls. Who in their right mind would intentionally harm their own family? Mother…" she sobbed, beginning to tear up.

"Isabella...I'm sorry as well...I wasn't a good mother to you...when you came to me for advice, I didn't really help you. I thought you could work things out on your own, but you were truly suffering, and now I was forced to kill you…" The blonde woman ran over to the others, hugging them tightly.

"Grandma…" Lucy and Vera sobbed.

"I'm so proud of you girls...I hope you all have the happiest lives…"

"Mom…thank you…" Isabella stood up again and kissed Layla on the forehead as her subconscious faded away and they found themselves back in Olympus.

"Layla, feel free to take anything you wish from my room." She smiled, her body beginning to fade away. "Tell your father I'm sorry." She faded away entirely, leaving Layla seemingly disconnected from everyone else.

"Mom? Are you alright?" Lucy asked, walking up to her.

"..."

 **End.**


	31. Epilogue

**I decided to call the new story "What You Became." Look forward to that in a week or so, maybe sooner. Thankfully, I've taken care of a lot of my workload early so I have some free time here and there. At last, here's the epilogue. Enjoy!**

 **Songs**

 **Finishing up in Olympus: Mask (Aqua Timez)**

 **Mavis and Zeref: Obito's Theme (Naruto Shippuden OST)**

 **Zeref's Letter: If you leave me (Fate/Zero OST)**

 **Layla's Depression: Hurt (NIne Inch Nails)**

 **Next Generation: Main Theme 2016 (Fairy Tail OST)**

 **Layla's Lullaby: Mean Ol' Moon (Amanda Seyfried)**

Layla walked through her mother's room slowly, looking around for anything she might keep. The others were still back in Valhalla, saying their goodbyes to the various gods and getting healed or revived by Chaos. A sparkle caught her eye, finding a silver key on the dresser and unlocking an exquisite looking jewelry box with it, finding a purple diamond ring inside. Layla picked it up and slid it onto her right ring finger, also taking the key and box with her. She looked behind her as she exited the room and sighed. She didn't need anything else, didn't want anything else.

" **I apologize for my actions. Isabella explained what happened to you, did she not?"**

"Yes, she did. So, what happens now?" Victoria asked. "How will Olympus continue?"

" **I decided to seal myself into Isabella only because of my fears for Zeref, Yury, and Irene. They had lived for hundreds of years, and would live for hundreds more. Even if the sixth envoy were strong enough to best them in combat, they would not be able to break through their immortality. And besides, at the time, the choice for the Strauss family was middle-aged, and past her prime. And she was still nowhere near where Elena got to. So I believed that I would have to be the one to take care of this crisis. And now that we know what will happen if I fuse with a mortal person, I will never do it again. We can't afford to have another person run wild like that."**

"Good. Then, if you'll excuse us, we'll be getting ready to leave. After all, we only have about a day left before we turn into spirits and are stuck here."

" **Very well."**

"My advice is the same as Isabella's, girls. Do your best with what life hands you. And I hope you never have to come back here again." Nyx hugged and kissed all off them.

"Huh? How come? What if we want to see you?" Lucy asked.

"Wanting to see me is fine, but you shouldn't come back to Olympus too often. It's where the dead reside, you shouldn't have to come here. And if you do, I hope it's not for needing our help with something that's beyond your grasp."

"Ah. So that's what you meant."

"Exactly."

"Thank you, Nyx." Lucy hugged her again, and most of them left the castle.

" **Hold on a second, envoys. I want to speak to you alone."** Chaos remarked.

"Oh...okay." Mira and the others remained in the room, while the gods and the other mages left.

" **It is quite obvious, but without your assistance, the others most certainly would not have survived. For your efforts, I will give each one of you a favor, should you desire anything."**

"A wish? Hmm…" They all thought.

"I don't need anything." Layla said quickly, leaving the room.

"I don't either." Silver followed after her.

"I'm already dead, and I have control over my senses now, so I don't really think it matters. I don't need anything." Irene left as well.

" **And you four? Do you desire anything? Anything at all?"**

"You guys go first." Mira looked at Zeref and Yury.

"Yes. I'd like you to remove my immortality as well as my curse, if possible." Zeref stepped forward.

"Mine as well." Yury agreed.

"Mine too." Mavis stepped forward.

" **Very well. I can do that. Hold still."** The three obeyed, and a black aura gleamed off of their bodies before going up into the air and getting absorbed into Chaos.

"So that's it? I don't feel any different…" Zeref looked at his hands.

" **Yes. The reason is because your powers were at their weakest in a long time. Your hatred for Isabella diminished your curse, while Erebus' magic enhanced your abilities."**

"And to think I spent so long trying to find a way out, when you did it instantly. We really are nothing compared to the gods."

" **Perhaps you are not our equals, but you are certainly some of the most powerful mages that ever existed. You've surpassed most of them, save for Elena and Veridia, I believe."**

"I see...thank you, Chaos. We'll be going now." Zeref, Yury, and Mavis left as well, making Mira the sole remaining person in the room.

" **Lastly, the Strauss girl. Tell me Mirajane, do you desire anything?"**

"...Yes. I desire….knowledge. What can you tell me about my mother, Elena?"

" **Knowledge? About Elena? Hmmm…..I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you. As I said before, when I was fused with Isabella, we were not exactly conscious, and as such, I must regain the knowledge that evaded me for the past 70 years. I am sorry."**

"So then...you'd know soon enough?"

" **Yes, I suppose I would. If you'd like, you may return here and ask me again in a few months, but it's up to you."**

"...You know what? No. It was an ignorant wish anyways. What I remember of my mother is enough for me, and I don't want my opinion of her to change, should I learn something unsettling. So don't worry about it. Thank you for the offer." She smiled, bowing and taking her leave as well.

 **X**

"Father? Are you here?" Layla walked the streets of Shangri-La, looking for Henry Heartfilia.

"Layla?" He asked, sitting on a bench in an empty park.

"Father…" She went and sat down next to him.

"What are you still doing here? I heard you defeated your mother, but...shouldn't you be getting back to Earthland before you and your friends turn to spirits?"

"Yes, we're leaving soon. Everyone else is saying goodbye to their loved ones. I came here to deliver mother's last words...she wanted me to tell you that she's sorry...for everything." He sighed and leaned forward, holding his hands together.

"I see...only words, but somehow...a simple apology is all I need to forgive her."

"Funny...it's all I needed as well. Also...I want you to have this." She took the ring off of her finger and instead put it on her father's.

"Isabella's wedding ring? She still had it?"

"Yes. You should keep it. She won't be coming back after all…"

"Indeed. I'll cherish it. Layla, despite everything that happened, and that your mother will never come back...I...We...want you to know that we'll always love you, no matter what. You are our pride and joy."

"Oh, Daddy...thank you. I love you too. Both of you." She hugged him tightly.

"I should be going now. I'll come back when I can."

"Of course. Goodbye, dear."

"Bye, Dad."

 **X**

The mages of Fairy Tail and Alvarez went back home, finally done with the war, disappearing in a column of teal light. From the roof of Asgard, two figures watched.

"I thought you'd want to talk to her before she left? You might never see her again, you know."

"It's fine. She shouldn't have to see me again. It will just bring up old memories."

"Good ones, though."

"And bad. Remember that I died right in front of her."

"But that was-"

"Hemera. We said we wouldn't speak of that. I don't want Mira or the other two to know."

"...I understand. I'm going to go visit my brother for a while. Want to join?"

"No thanks. I'll stay up here. The breeze is nice."

"You almost seem like you're waiting for something."

"Don't be ridiculous. What could I possibly have to wait for? I'm already dead."

"Just a hunch. I'll be back."

"Of course." Elena smiled back at her.

 **X**

"Ah, it's good to be back!" Natsu stretched, walking into the main hall of Fairy Tail.

"We have so much work to do for rebuilding though…" Lucy sweatdropped, remembering the wreckage from the fight with Zeref and Natsu previously.

"Don't worry about that." Layla muttered, clapping her hands together, forming a purple barrier around the hall. She repaired everything and directed it back to its original place, then releasing the barrier, making the hall look brand new.

"There. Like nothing ever happened."

"Wow…" Lucy stared in awe.

"Feel more like home now?"

"Yes. Thank you mom."

"I don't know about you guys, but...I'm exhausted." Mira sighed.

"Yeah, I say we sleep for now, and get settled in tomorrow." Victoria suggested. They all headed to their respective homes.

"Grandmother, you can come with us and take Irene's room if you'd like." Layla invited.

"Yeah, that would be nice." She and the other remaining members of Alvarez used Layla's portal and went back to Vistarion Palace, sleeping in their own rooms.

Zeref and Layla stripped down to nothing, and locked the door. He sat on the bed, sighing and looking up at the ceiling.

"Layla...there's something I need to tell you." She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his chest.

"What is it?"

"This...isn't easy for me to say, but...this is our last night together…"

"What...what do you mean?" Her voice broke.

"When we were up in Olympus...the favors that myself, Yury, and Mavis asked for were to have our immortality removed...and it worked."

"So now you can live a normal life!" Tears began welling up in her eyes.

"No...I've been alive for too long...and everything that I did...I deserve to die, Layla. And Mavis agreed with me. Tomorrow morning, we're going to have Natsu and Yury kill us."

"Zeref, you can't!" She grabbed him and shoved him back against the bed, kissing him fiercely and straddling him. His eyes widened, shocked at how she reacted.

"Listen to me. There is nothing more precious to me than you. I love you more than anyone else. And I am not going to have you give up your life after my mother just lost hers, and my grandmother is expected to leave me as well! Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I want you to be happy, Layla. I love you more than anything else, too."

"Then promise me." She lifted her left hand and presented her onyx and diamond wedding and engagement rings to him. "Promise me you won't leave me alone. Don't you remember what we promised each other? That we would never let each other be by ourselves again. That we'd always be there for one another. So please...don't go." she cried.

"...Alright. I won't. I'll stay." Her face brightened up and she laid against him, thanking him and kissing him.

"Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too."

 **X**

"Alright, we're here. What did you want?" Natsu asked, standing next to Yury in the middle of the park, facing Zeref and Mavis. They looked at each other before nodding.

"Kill us." They said at the same time.

"...What?"

"End our lives."

"But Zeref...you just got your life back! You don't have to worry about your curse anymore!" Natsu protested. "And Mavis…!"

"What does it matter?" Zeref looked down, smiling sadly. "Everything that I did in my life, the bad far outweighs the good. I might have gotten my life back, but I don't deserve it. My dream for so long now was simply to die, and for you to be the one to kill me. It would just bring me closure to know that I couldn't hurt anyone anymore."

"You already can't! You are no longer under Ankhseram's control!"

"Natsu. If I join Fairy Tail, then I can still hurt other mages by fighting them on jobs. I simply want to go to Tartarus, where I can never truly cause anyone harm again. My goal was to stop Isabella, and now that it's achieved, I want nothing more than to be gone."

"Zeref...don't you remember what I said when you brought up Neo-Eclipse? What about Layla? What about Vera? Don't they mean anything to you?"

"They mean the most to me."

"Then why are you abandoning them?!"

"...Because it would do them some good to move on. The entire time that they've known me, they've simply been preparing for the day that I die. Even if I could live with them for the rest of my life, I still wouldn't be happy, because my guilt would haunt me for the rest of my days. Didn't Olympus teach you anything, Natsu? Anna and Isabella? There can't always be a happy ending. And those two can't stay attached to me forever. I'm only holding them back." Natsu looked down sadly.

"Yes, I'm aware of that now...Not everything can work out perfectly. I almost lost Lucy up there by my own hand...But just because Layla doesn't get everything she wants doesn't mean that she can't have something in her life! You finally have the option to stay with her! Why won't you use it?!"

"For the reasons that I just explained. If she remains with me, she'll only be held back. And I want her to live life without me, to see what she can do without relying on me."

"She became Empress of an empire without you!"

"She became Empress of an empire because she met me. Had she never been born an envoy, I would have never sought her out, and she would never have joined Alvarez. It's all because of me, Natsu. She can't keep depending on me for advancement in her life."

"..."

"The same goes for me, Yury." Mavis turned to him. "You've been trying to kill me for almost 100 years now. Isn't it about time that you got to do that?"

"Well...yes, but why? Before, you gave everything you had fighting me to stop me from doing that, and now you're giving up willingly? Why?"

"Because, similar to Layla's relationship with Zeref, Fairy Tail relies on me too heavily. With Makarov gone now, they'll obviously look to me for guidance, and it's better for them to move on and pick a new master. I'm part of the old generation of Fairy Tail, and it's time to begin a new one, with you guys as the leaders, not the followers. Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now?"

"Absolutely not. But, are you really sure about this? Without telling them?"

"It's better this way. If we told them, they'd just try to stop us from doing it. So please…" Zeref pleaded.

"...Alright." Natsu sighed, transforming into END. Yury encased his fist in light magic. Both of them shed a few tears before impaling their targets.

"Thank...you…" They both choked out, their bodies falling to the ground and bleeding out. Yury bent down and felt their wrists, waiting until they had no pulse left. Once they were really dead, he used healing magic to close up the wounds that they inflicted on them. Unseen to them, Zeref and Mavis' spirits both ascended to Olympus, welcomed at the front gates of El Dorado.

"What the…? What am I doing here? There's no way that I'm considered a good person!" Zeref looked around.

"Yes, you are. You've had quite the redemption this past month, my lord. Now come on, it's time to begin your new lives." Irene smiled at them, and the two now deceased mages walked through hand-in-hand.

 **X**

Yury broke the news to everyone at the guild the next morning. Well, everyone except for Layla. They decided to let her sleep in.

"So now what? What do we do about a master?" Lucy asked.

"Well, it's up to us. Originally, Mavis was chosen by a democratic vote, and the title's been passed down by will since then. But this time, she didn't say who she wanted to become ninth, and neither did Makarov. So it's up to us." Yury explained. They remained silent for a moment before Laxus spoke up.

"I nominate Layla."

"Laxus?!" Mira asked, shocked.

"I thought you always wanted to become master someday?" Sliver asked him.

"At this point...I don't think I'm as qualified as some of the others are. She might have fought us without remorse, and betrayed us in the past, but she's certainly not a bad person. I think she deserves the title much more than I do, and it will help her get over Zeref's decision once she finds out. She was the one who changed everything for us. She taught us so many things. And almost her entire life has been nothing but pain and loneliness. And now that she lost both her mother and her husband, I think she needs a place that she can call home. Who else agrees?"

"...I do." Mystogan raised his hand.

"Me as well." Mira chimed in.

"Having Mom back, huh? Having her be our new Master is just a bonus!" Lucy raised her hand along with Vera, and soon the whole guild had agreed.

"Then it's settled. Now then, we should get going." They were all dressed in black, and went over to Tenroujima to bury Mavis and Zeref's bodies along with Makarov's and to have a ceremony for them, Anna, Irene, August, Rahkeid, and Isabella as well.

 **X**

"Mmm…" Layla slowly woke up, stretching. She looked beside to find Zeref gone. She shrugged and took a shower and got dressed in her black outfit to go to the funerals. She teleported to the higher areas of Tenroujima and looked out over the cliff, thinking of her mother. She crossed her arms, feeling something odd when her hands pushed her breasts up. She reached into her bra and found a folded up piece of paper.

"What's this…?" She carefully opened it and began reading.

 _ **Layla,**_

 _ **I'm sorry for leaving this in your dress, but I figured it would be the most likely place that you would discover it**_ _._

 _ **Forgive me for doing this, but words proved to not be enough to convince you, so I left to have Natsu carry out the deed. As you're reading this, you should know that I've already passed on and am probably in Tartarus."**_

"Zeref...why?" she sobbed, continuing to read through the tears that blurred her vision.

 _ **Now then, you're probably expecting an explanation. A real one, as opposed to my quick one last night. Being cursed my whole life, I wanted nothing more than to simply die and stop hurting others. I knew that you wouldn't want me to go through with it, and I'm sorry for doing it anyway, but this felt like the only way that I could get some closure.**_

 _ **You see, you and I, as close as we are, have a problem with our relationship. You're too dependent on me. You always want to be where I am, go where I am, and do what I do. And that's no way for someone to live. As much as you love me and I love you, we can no longer be together, because you need to live a life of your own. With me, you became the Empress of an entire country, but without me, you can become your own person, have your own dreams, your own goals, work for yourself, rather than doing everything for my sake.**_

 _ **I know that I'm just helping prove the Heartfilia prophecy again, but trust me when I say that in return for one person, you'll have an entire family that loves you and will consider you like their own mother.**_

 _ **You are not alone. Remember that. You will always have Lucy and Vera with you, and your mother, grandmother and I will always be with you in spirit. Go be great, Layla Heartfilia. You are the kindest, funniest, strongest, and most beautiful woman I've ever met and ever will meet, so you are unstoppable. And remember that we'll never truly be apart.**_

 _ **Yours and nobody else's forevermore,**_

 _ **Zeref Dragneel.**_

She gripped the paper hard, folding it up and stuffing it back into her bra. Teardrops continued flowing from her eye down her cheek and chin and finally dripping onto the grass.

"Zeref...when will you learn? Doing things for your sake was what made me happy?" She fell onto her knees, looking down at the shore before crying out.

 **X**

Finishing up, the others began to head back.

"I'm going to go find Mom. She never showed up." Lucy told the others, going through the forest to look around. Eventually, she came out at the clearing by the cliff, finding her mother standing at the edge.

"Mom? What are you doing all the way out here?" She looked at her questioningly before Layla slowly spread her arms out and took another step towards the cliff.

"Mom…?"

"I'm sorry Lucy…" She began to slowly fall forward.

"MOM!" Lucy screeched, running as fast as she could to her and wrapping her arms around her stomach, pulling her back to the ground.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" She cried, holding her mother tightly.

"Lucy...let me go...I need to go to him…"

"Mom, he did this for you!"

"How?!" She took out the letter and handed it to her daughter, who read through it.

"In what way did he do this for me?!"

"Didn't you read this at all? He wants you to move past him!"

"If he really wanted me to feel better then he shouldn't have gone and lied to me! He told me last night that he would stay, and now I wake up to read this! I've already dealt with so much loss in my life, Lucy. I can't live with myself if he's gone too…"

"Mom, killing yourself is not the solution! It's the exact opposite of what Zeref wanted! Wouldn't he be disappointed in you if after he went through all of the trouble of doing this that you wasted his efforts?! How hard do you think it was to do what he did?! The one woman he truly loved in his life, and he finally had a chance to spend the rest of it with her, but instead chose to die and atone for his sins! Would you do the same?!"

"No, of course not! I don't care how selfish it is, I would stay!"

"Then stay right now! …...If you march off to your death, then you'll be leaving Vera and I alone as well. It won't help. So please, live. We'll help you through this."

"Lucy…" She collapsed onto her daughter's lap, crying. Lucy stood there and held her, stroking her hair.

"I just got you back...I don't want to lose you again…"

"I'm sorry...I won't leave you girls...I promise…"

 **X**

Following her emotional episode, Layla, though reluctant at first, accepted her new position as Fairy Tail's 9th Master. She bought a house to live with Vera and Silver, and over the next few days, they moved their possessions out of Vistarion and into their new home. As her last act as Empress, she denounced her title and ceded control of the empire to Dimaria, who accepted the position and now remains as the new Empress.

Wolfheim and Warrod chose to retire from the Wizard Saints, and, following the display of their powers in the war, and their contribution to saving the world, Layla, Yury, and Silver were pardoned for their actions, and took their places as the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Gods of Ishgar. Layla, not wanting to deal with all the paperwork and procedures, left Yury in charge of the Magic Council in her stead. Yury, in turn, bought a mansion in Era, and ended up living there, not getting a chance to visit Fairy Tail that often due to the amount of work he received.

As Layla's first act as Master, she restored the status of S-Class Mage to herself, Yury, and Silver, as well as promoting Vera to the rank after she passed the next Promotion Trial.

Mystogan left for Edolas again, and never returned to Earthland again, though all of them remember the help he gave them.

Crime Sorciere received a pardon from Queen Hisui for all of their former crimes, and were free to act as an independent guild for as long as they wished. They visited Fairy Tail as often as they could, and returned to hunting down dark guilds that still pledged their alleigances to Alvarez and the Balam Alliance.

As she said, Victoria returned to her form as a spirit inside of Lucy after two weeks, deciding to give her power to travel between dimensions to Layla. At the end of the year, she disappeared completely and became part of Nyx's essence.

Though deeply hurt by Zeref's passing, Layla never did go to Olympus to see him.

Mira continued her training with Silver, and eventually finished it with Hemera, going to Olympus multiple times, but still never meeting her mother. She did master her god soul and spirit weapon, and in X795, Yury gave her the title of Third Wizard Saint, moving Silver down to Fourth.

Many couples surfaced in the guild after the war, including Natsu and Lucy, Laxus and Mira, Gray and Juvia, Erza and Jellal, Kinana and Erik, Gajeel and Levy, Cana and Bacchus, Elfman and Evergreen, and even Lisanna and Bickslow and Wendy and Romeo.

Layla and Silver never did get remarried.

 **X805**

"Mommy!" Nashi ran up to Lucy, jumping up and down at their table.

"Yes, dear, what is it?"

"Storm says he wants to fight me! What do I do?"

"You get in there and fight him!" Natsu suggested.

"Don't mind your father." Lucy said, Natsu now slammed into the ground, and her younger son Ryu in her arms. "Gray, control your son!" Lucy called over to another table.

"Hey, if he wants to fight the fire princess, then let him."

"Gray-sama, no!" Juvia protested, holding a young infant girl. Gray was holding an infant boy.

"Hey, come on Dad! I want to see who's stronger! Besides, I heard that you and uncle Natsu were always fighting when you were younger!"

"And you shouldn't follow their example." Reiki walked up to the two of them, arms crossed. "And besides, it doesn't really matter which of your dads is stronger since my mom beat them both up everytime." he smirked.

"Hey, shut up!" Storm and Nashi ran up to him and the three started fighting.

"Knock it off, all of you."

"N-N-Nova!" They all stopped dead in their tracks, afraid of the older blonde-haired girl who gave them all death stares.

"Fushigi, help us!" They cried.

"Why should I help? Nova's my friend, and you guys shouldn't go around fighting all the time." The purple-haired girl, the oldest of the bunch, sat nearby, on her mother's lap.

"This is ridiculous. I didn't know how noisy this place would be without the others to look after their own kids." Lucy sighed, gently bouncing her son on her knee while he laughed happily.

"I thought it'd be rather obvious, frankly." Levy said from nearby, sitting with Gajeel and her own son, Gale. "Even before we were parents, Mira and Master were always acting as the parents. If they're not here, then everything's going to be more hectic than usual."

"And that's saying a lot." Erik said, causing the others to laugh.

"Still, it couldn't be helped. This was an important day, and some of us needed to stay here to watch the kids."

"Yeah...who knew that the day when Fiore and Alvarez became allies would ever come?"

"I always thought it would, once Layla-sama became Master." Juvia interjected.

"But Dimaria didn't like her…" Lucy muttered.

"It didn't really matter. She had to put aside her personal differences and choose to work with us. With all of the generals either dead or leaving, they didn't have the necessary power to fight against us. If she didn't want to have conflicts, she had to go to these diplomatic meetings with the Queen. She made smart choices." Jellal explained, walking into the main hall along with the others.

"Ah! Welcome back!" The others greeted. Erza took her one-year old daughter Rosemary into her arms from Kinana. The other children ran back to their parents, save for Nashi, who went up to Layla and raised her arms up, wanting to be held by her grandmother. Layla complied, hoisting her onto her shoulder and kissing the sweet child.

"How were things?" Kinana asked as Mira walked up to the bar and patted her daughter on her head.

"It went quite well. Many citizens were pleased to see the unification of the two countries again. Although I don't have much time to relax. Yury has me on an assignment starting tomorrow."

"Can't you take me with you?" Nova pouted, looking at her mother.

"No, I can't. I'm sorry. You're not ready for a mission of this caliber yet, Nova." She hugged her daughter. "Dad will look after you though, don't worry."

"Yeah, but...I'm always with him. And you're always busy."

"Your mother is in a very important position, Nova." Kinana said.

"Yeah, yeah, she's the Third Wizard Saint, I know. But she should try to make more time for me…"

"Nova, you're my child, my beautiful girl. I despise being away from you. But I have to sometimes. Remember that I love you no matter what." Mira smiled at her.

"Mm…" The young girl blushed a bit, and nodded slowly.

 **X**

"Grammy, I'm tired...can we go home?" Nashi asked. She sat in Layla's office while her grandmother finished up some paperwork.

"What time is it?" She looked over at the clock. "Ah, it's already nine. Yes, I suppose we should get you home. I can finish this tomorrow." She gathered her papers and filed them away, picking up the pink-haired girl in her arms and leaving the hall, locking up. They walked back towards Natsu and Lucy's house, and looked up at the sky, the stars twinkling in the blackness.

"Grammy, can you sing me a lullaby?" Nashi asked drowsily.

"Sure...I know just the one. I wrote it myself, years ago." She cleared her throat and began singing softly to her granddaughter.

 _Mean Ol' Moon_

 _It must be fun, to shine upon me as I come undone_

 _Till I'm all alone beneath the sun._

 _You mean ol' moon._

 _With your beam, you led the way;_

 _And found me love I thought was here to stay._

 _Then you went and took my love away,_

 _You mean ol' moon._

 _Oh you mean ol' stars above, the games that you play with me;_

 _I could find some happiness if all of my nights were cloudy._

 _Mean ol' moon, I hope it's true;_

 _You're taking all the light that's left in you,_

 _And saving it up for you know who;_

 _You mean ol' moon,_

 _Oh you mean ol' moon._

By the time Layla finished, Nashi was already sleeping soundly, draped over her grandmother's shoulder. She smiled sweetly at the girl, taking her into her arms. She used the spare key to unlock the house and went up to Lucy, delivering the girl into her arms.

"Thanks for looking after her." She smiled, going upstairs and putting Nashi to bed. They sat down at the kitchen table.

"So...have you thought about him at all?"

"I think about him every day. But looking back at it, I think he made the right choice. For me to become more than just his helper. Even though I was suicidal at first, and then depressed for almost a year...I think I moved on well. Would you agree?"

"Yes. It's good to have you back Mom. For real."

"Yeah. It's good to be back. And I'm not going anywhere else ever again. I love you, Lucy."

"I love you too."

 **The End.**

 **Please note that the names for the kids were not thought of by me. They are generally the most widely accepted names for Fairy Tail's next generation, and since multiple people have used them, I don't know who came up with them first. As for Fushigi, that one belongs to Vilandel, who wrote practically the only fanfiction about Kinana and Erik's child, and I thought the name worked out well. For reference, these are the next generation from oldest to youngest:**

 **Fushigi Cobra (10 years old, born in X795 to Kinana and Erik Cobra)**

 **Nova Dreyar (9 years old, born in X796 to Laxus and Mirajane Dreyar)**

 **Storm Fullbuster (8 years old, born in X797 to Gray and Juvia Fullbuster)**

 **Gale Redfox (8 years old, born in X797 to Gajeel and Levy Redfox)**

 **Nashi Dragneel (7 years old, born in X798 to Natsu and Lucy Dragneel)**

 **Reiki Fernandes (7 years old, born in X798 to Jellal and Erza Fernandes)**

 **Ryu Dragneel (3 years old, born in X802 to Natsu and Lucy Dragneel)**

 **Rosemary Fernandes (1 year old, born in X804 to Jellal and Erza Fernandes)**

 **Sylvia Fullbuster (Infant, born in X805 to Gray and Juvia Fullbuster)**

 **Rin Fullbuster (Infant, born in X805 to Gray and Juvia Fullbuster)**

 **Thank you all for taking this long journey with me, and I hope to see you reading the sequel!**


End file.
